Safe But Half as Real
by rianess
Summary: Xover, Doctor Who BG. Fed up, Harry attempts suicide, is rescued and shown a world more wonderful than he could ever imagine. Then he returns to face his former friends and so called destiny. NOT slash. Chapter 5 LLXHP in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I no part of anything here!_**

**_A/N: Yep, new story, and yep, it's quite silly. Hope you like it!_**

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**Safe, But Half as Real**

* * *

"This only is denied to God: the power to undo the past."

**Agathon (448 BC - 400 BC)**, _from Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics_

* * *

Harry sat staring out the window. 

He could have been contemplating life, his place in the world, the malaise of modern man. Could have been. But he wasn't. He didn't really have much else to do, and it was raining. He felt he could cast a rather poetic picture, sitting on the grimy windowsill, looking out the even grimier window, watching the rain beat down onto the window panes.

True, he did feel maudlin enough to be that boy, looking forlornly out the window, but in reality, he wasn't doing it for that reason. He was trapped here, in this prison built by good intentions. Grimmauld Place was _not _somewhere he wanted to be, and this summer, he had hoped he wouldn't have to come here. He was, after all, seventeen – legally an adult in the wizarding world, allowed to make his own choices.

But as with everything else, even his housing choice had been taken away from him.

* * *

His relatives had gone on holiday the day before his birthday. He thought this was probably because: a) they knew he would not be coming back again, and wanted to celebrate. And b) because they knew he was now allowed to use his wand without fear of negative consequences, and they wanted to escape their well-deserved comeuppance. 

Harry actually had had no plans to curse them. He he'd toyed with the idea in some of his darker moments, as a way of getting through their treatment of him. It helped, when he was being shouted at or backhanded, to imagine turning his relatives into toads or radishes. He thought radishes would be best.

But to do so, would lower himself to their level, something he never wanted to do. He had been quite looking forward to proving he was a better person than them, by exercising restraint. But the little cowards had run off before he had a chance.

At first he was pretty pissed off, but after some thought, he decided it was a blessing in disguise. He had the whole house to himself, no one else around. He finally had time to do what _he _wanted, _when_ he wanted, without answering to anyone else. It was practically heaven!

As with all things which brought him joy, it wasn't to last however.

By pure chance, Mrs Figg had spotted him coming back from the supermarket on the bus, and had passed by the Dursley house to check up on him. She had quickly surmised they were not at home, and after asking around the neighbours, discovered that they were on holiday and Harry had been left on his own.

Despite the fact that Harry was now an adult and had been capable of looking after himself for a number of years, Arabella immediately sent an owl to Dumbledore advising him of these facts.

It took the old man no less than three hours to appear on the scene to demand Harry accompany him to Order Headquarters to spend the rest of the summer there.

* * *

"No. I'd rather stay here, thank you Headmaster." Harry said calmly when Dumbledore asked him to come with him. 

"Harry, I believe you have misunderstood the situation. I am not asking. You are not safe here, and you must come to Headquarters with us. Trust me to know what is best for you, hmm?" He said, the twinkle in his eyes flickering for a moment.

Harry paused, and fought down a rush of indignation before speaking.

"Who has misunderstood, Professor? I am an adult, and you are the Headmaster of the school I attend. You have no say over my life outside of the school, not where I live, how I behave or even the food I eat. I will remain here, in my relatives' home, until school begins again. Now, please close the door on your way out." He retorted, crossing his arms, clearly waiting for the old man and his cohorts to leave.

Dumbledore bristled at the boy's lack of obedience. Deciding to forgo any further arguments, he pulled out his wand and stunned the Boy-Who-Lived. No one commented, though a few did raise their eyebrows before shrugging.

"Alastor, would you go and retrieve his belongings so we can take them back to Headquarters?"

* * *

So, here he was, imprisoned in his Godfather's former home, for his own good. Hah! Like anyone actually cared for him, the real him. The only ones who did, were dead. 

He suddenly felt very disconnected from the real world, and all the people in it. They were all there, outside, living their lives, and he couldn't help but think they were all happier than him. All had more reasons to stick around than he did. Reasons to get up, out of their beds and go out into the world.

Not that he could do that, even if he wanted to.

Within minutes of waking up in this godforsaken house, he tried to escape. When he reached the front door, he hit some kind of barrier and was propelled backwards, smacking his head on one of the walls in the hall.

When he'd woken up the second time, he had been told in no uncertain terms, that he was not to go outside. Not to even try, because he would be prevented from doing so by some wards Dumbledore had erected around the house. A few minutes of watching and waiting had shown he was the only one affected by these wards, since everyone else seemed to be able to come and go as they pleased.

Harry was surprised with himself that he was actually shocked by this new scheme of the old man's. He knew it would have been only a matter of time before the bastard dropped the act of concerned grandfather to outright control. People who still believed that the man only had Harry's best interests at heart were blind, and deserved everything they got, in Harry's opinion.

* * *

Harry shook himself out of his angry and vengeful thoughts, they were only serving to make him feel more frustrated and helpless. He needed to get out of this house, but that was not going to happen for weeks, and then he would only be moving to a marginally bigger prison than the one he was in now. 

This wasn't what he wanted. And he was pretty sure it wasn't what his parents would have wanted his life to be like. He couldn't run away, that was for sure. And would he be able to get away from school. The Headmaster was a wily old git though, he was bound to find some way to stop him from getting away from there too.

And where would he go anyway? He had money of his own, and he was an adult. So he could withdraw some of it, and go somewhere, but then what? Maybe he was overreacting? The old man wouldn't be able to control his life forever, right? His breathing got quicker and he started to panic.

He snapped himself out of it pretty fast, not wanting to feed his anxiety unduly, he had enough problems to begin with.

There had to be someone, somewhere in this house, who was on his side. Surely?

* * *

_"Ron, Hermione? Have you got a minute? There's something I need to tell you." _

_"Not right now, Harry."_

That was the way it had gone all morning. He had decided to bite the bullet and ask for help. That was what you were supposed to do, right? When things weren't going so well, you had friends you could rely on to help you out, listen and be there for you. Harry hadn't much experience on relying on people before, but if it was always like this, then he didn't see why people bothered.

_"Molly? Can I talk with you for a moment? I've something, a big something, on my mind and…"_

_"Not at the moment Harry, I have to see Arthur about something."_

What was the point in being surrounded by all these people? Harry wondered as he stumbled his way back upstairs, the last few minutes replaying in his mind. Why was he here, if they wouldn't even spare a few minutes to talk to him?

He'd tried everyone that was currently in the house. In _his _house. He and Sirius had more in common that he'd originally thought. Both locked up in their own homes. Harry had known for a while that this horrible building was his, the executor of Sirius' will had told him in a letter. The only thing stopping him from turfing the lot of them out was the thought of the people he would be putting in danger. Though that was starting to become less and less important as the days wore on.

So, anyway, he _had _been to everyone. Tonks, Remus, Moody, Kingsley, Molly, Arthur, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore – Hell! Even Snape. The resounding answer was "_Not right now, Harry._" Well Harry from everyone except Snape and Moody, he was just 'Potter' to them. But that was beside the point.

Why did they bother bringing him here, against his will, if they were just going to ignore him the whole time? Everyone had their own concerns, even Ron and Hermione – who were too wrapped up in each other to even notice him.

Perhaps everyone was putting his bad mood down to the usual teenage angst. And even he could admit that he _was_ prone to it sometimes, though that was not to say his problems should be dismissed as unimportant just because he happened to be a teenager. Also, he was pretty damn sure most teenagers didn't have a '_Kill or be Killed_' prophecy hanging over their heads. It was just a hunch mind you, but one he was fairly certain of.

Back in his room, staring at the same four walls, something in him snapped, and he hit rock bottom.

* * *

His life was not his own. 

He felt as if he was being set up to be a sacrificial lamb in a power struggle between Voldemort and Dumbledore. Truly, in his opinion, the one was no better or worse than the other. Voldemort might kill people, and he might be monster, but so was the Headmaster. They just went about things in a different way.

It began with little things, and then escalated. He could think of a whole bunch of horrible things he had suffered at the hands of the old bastard.

Dumbledore sucked his parents into this war, and then got them killed.

Dumbledore let his godfather go to Azkaban without a trial, for something he didn't do.

Dumbledore didn't fight for Sirius, even though his being the Head of the Wizengamot meant he could have demanded a trial with truth serum.

Dumbledore left him with the Dursleys, and didn't check up on him, not once.

Dumbledore kept Remus away from him and didn't even tell him about his father's friends' existence until he was thirteen. Even then if was Remus himself who told.

Dumbledore still didn't demand a trial for Sirius Black when he knew for certain he was innocent.

Dumbledore practically locked Sirius in this house knowing it would drive him mad.

Dumbledore led Harry on a merry goose chase every year he was at school, almost getting him killed each time.

Dumbledore let a man who hated Harry repeatedly rape his mind during Occlumency lessons without warning about why it was so important, or any instructions.

Dumbledore let Harry race off after Sirius and the prophecy when he already knew what it contained.

Dumbledore didn't even wait an hour after Sirius died before telling Harry the prophecy.

Just a week ago, Dumbledore stunned Harry and locked him up in this house against his will.

His life was not his own anymore, it was Dumbledore's.

Well, Harry knew how to fix that.

* * *

Rooting through his trunk, he finally found what he was looking for. Fragments from the precious mirror he had shattered after Sirius' death. He'd replayed it over and over in his mind - what he could have done differently, how he should have just called out for his godfather through the mirror, instead of his impetuous flight to the Department of Mysteries. 

It took him a long time to accept it - to come to terms with he part he had played in it all, but finally, he did.

Nothing would change, Sirius was gone. Even if he had a time turner, it would make no difference. He couldn't change the past, because he hadn't. Time was one piece, it went round in a circle. He couldn't save Sirius, because he didn't. He couldn't save his parents, because he didn't. That was all there was to it.

But he _could_ change his own fate.

His decisions, in the here and now, determined how his future would unfold. They thought they could decide he life. No, it would be him. He, and he alone could tell now, what the end would be.

Slowly, but deliberately, he pulled the largest piece to his throat and pressed.

"_Ashes to ashes." _He whispered, wind blowing in his face, before passing out.

* * *

"You alright there, old girl? Bit of a bumpy ride. Right, let's see where we are!" The man threw the doors open, and looked about. 

He appeared to be in someone's bedroom.

"Strange place to stop. Though, I suppose it wouldn't be the first time. Well then. Bit grotty, isn't it? What the…!" The man stumbled over something on the floor, and after a quick glance, he discovered it was a body! A barely breathing, lost a lot of blood, but alive body! Whoever it was, they were clutching a number of items to their chest, and had a peaceful expression on their face which the man found all too familiar and yet, chilling.

"How do I get myself into these things? Oh yeah! You get me into them, don't you girl!?" He said, picking up the body and racing, as carefully as possible, back through the doors he had entered from, and closed them behind them. Laying the body on the ground for a moment, he fiddled with some controls.

A strange noise started up and the room lurched as if moving. Ignoring this, the man squatted down next to the person he had brought in with him, and began patching him up. Once that was taken care of and he was assured he would live, he started routing through the person's things.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? A wizard are you? How very interesting."

* * *

Harry groaned as he stirred, wondering where he was and why he had such a sore throat. He could barely swallow around it. Reaching out blindly, his had connected with a cool glass which he snatched and drank from greedily. The cool water satisfied his thirst, but did little to soothe his throat. He brushed his fingertips over his neck and was alarmed to discover a bandage there. 

What had happened to him? He cast his mind back trying to remember everything that had occurred that day, trying to find some explanation. He glanced around the room, and found another shock was waiting for him.

_This was not his room._

In fact, wherever he was, it did _not_ look like any room in Grimmauld Place. Where the bloody hell was he, and why did he have a bandage round his throat? He stopped for a moment, as he remembered. He'd tried to kill himself. What an idiot! Why did he do that? What the hell was the matter with him, he...Oh yeah.

Dumbledore. His friends. Harry snorted. Some friends.

They talked big about how they were there for him, but as soon as he made the effort, as soon as he thought he might give this confiding in people thing a go, suddenly they had not time for him. They were too busy! Some might call him selfish for trying to take his own life, and maybe he was. But to him it seemed as though he _had_ to be selfish, since no one else appeared to be in his corner.

"Awake are you? Good, good. Excellent! Well, can't have you lying around here all day. Place to go, things to see. Was brought to you for a reason, and I don't think it was to watch you lying around in bed all day, though that confused look is rather endearing I suppose. Sorry, where was I?"

Harry practically jumped out of his skin at the sound of the bright and cheerful voice coming from his left. He turned to face the source of the voice and automatically fumbled around for his glasses. It took a few moments for his conscious mind to catch up on what his brain already knew. He could see clearly! And he wasn't wearing any glasses!

"Looking for these?" The man said, pulling the glasses out of his pocket and waving them around for a second. "You won't need them anymore. Took the liberty of repairing you eyes at the same time as fixing your neck there. Suppose you can have them for old time's sake if you like though. Can't think why you would, mind you, but then, who am I to judge?!" He said jovially, holding them out to Harry who took them automatically.

"I'm sorry, who are you? And where am I?" He asked, thought not impolitely.

The man _had _saved his life, and action Harry was feeling rather grateful for, now that his mania of earlier seemed to have passed. The man, who was tall and well dressed in a snappy suit slapped his forehead with a hand.

"Where are my manners! Forgive me. I know who you are - Harry Potter, right? Well, Harry Potter, I'm the Doctor. Nice to meet you."

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_**Please Review!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter, Baldur's Gate and associated mods or Doctor Who. **

**A/N: Wow! It's been a while I know. Well, I've been having trouble writing, because my job leaves me so stressed it's hard to be creative. I've taken a step I'm unsure of by bringing in the PC from Baldur's Gate and the Xan BG2 NPC mod. I really wanted to see if I could combine these three genres and still make a readable story. I suppose I'll have to wait and see. Harry's story doesn't feature very heavily in this chapter, but he will remain the main character, never fear. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, especially Von for a really helpful and constructive review. (and I'm not being sarcastic). **

**So anyway, here goes... (gulp).**

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Chapter Two

* * *

"Time cools, time clarifies; no mood can be maintained quite unaltered through the course of hours."

**Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)**

* * *

"Doctor who?" Harry was sticking to the obvious questions. 

"Just the Doctor. Now, would you like to tell me how you got yourself into this predicament? I assume you did it to yourself, since you were the only one about when I arrived." The funny man asked him, and Harry frowned.

"Did what to myself?" There was a pause. Harry looked down and noticed the pile of his belongings. "Oh, you mean with the glass and stuff. Well…hang on, how did that lot get here? I don't remember picking anything up." The Doctor looked at him like he was a silly child. Which he supposed was fair and all, but didn't stop him feeling more than a bit irritated.

"Not sure really. If you really _were_ trying to top yourself, I wouldn't imagine you thought you could take anything with you. On the other hand, your magic may have reacted to something in your subconscious and summoned the stuff to you. Hard to tell really. Still, the _really _stupid thing about this business is that you didn't really do any damage to yourself until you passed out." The man began scanning him with a strange looking instrument and muttering to himself.

Harry wasn't really bothered by it, since Madame Pomfrey had done that on several occasions in the past, although she used a wand and not a metal, blue, glowing thing. But from what he could see their intentions were the same.

"Passed out?" He pressed, wanting to keep the conversation going. It wasn't like he had anything better to do, just lying here the way he was.

"Hmm? Oh yes, well! You seemed to have suffered through some kind of magical overload recently. Interesting, that, when I can tell from my scan you had your birthday more than a week ago, and it should have happened then." He turned away, seemingly distracted, and seemed to be tapping some kind of console.

Harry thought he may as well be talking to a wall, or Dumbledore for all the information he was getting out of this 'Doctor'. At least this guy just appeared to have a short attention span, and was not keeping him in the dark _deliberately_. Well, that's what it looked like on the surface, but who knew what was…

_"Stop it!"_ A voice in his mind sounded, when he began sinking into paranoia. He inwardly thanked his own, um, inward voice, mentally reminded himself to buy a thesaurus sometime soon, and decided that just ploughing on ahead with the conversation would be the best thing to do.

"Why would my birthday have anything to do with a magical overload?" He asked, as politely as possible. The Doctor turned back to him with a smile.

"I was waiting for you to ask me that. I'll tell you. See, the thing is, you wizards, you go through puberty like normal humans. However, as well as all those raging hormones and what-not, you also have a magical maturity. It generally happens within a few hours of your seventeenth birthday, depending on the strength of the wizard, and in a few cases, the genetic heritage of the family. From what I can tell, someone blocked yours, and when you tried to kill yourself, yours broke through the blocks and triggered it. Fascinating stuff, eh?" He declared with a chuckle.

"Fascinating." Repeated Harry dumbly, suspicions already forming in his mind as to the culprit.

The Doctor watched the young man's face cloud over, and felt a sharp pang of sympathy welled in his chest. He had seen that look too many times before. Far, far, too many times.

"W-Why," Harry's voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat, and tried again. "Why would someone do that? What would they stand to gain from – well…" He couldn't meet the strange man's eyes.

"Power, mainly. That's what usually motivates the kind of person who would do something that. Harry Potter, you have to understand - it is incredibly dangerous to the one placed under the block, the caster, well not so much. They would release it at a time of their choosing and, I would imagine, take the necessary precautions to ensure they could absorb your power without damaging themselves. One of the many dangers to you, is that they could draw too much power from you, and drain your body of the energy it needs to sustain your life." The Doctor had sat down by this point, and was delivering this news in the gentlest of voices.

Harry struggled to come to terms with this news.

In his mind, there were only two people who would have the knowledge and the strength to do something like this. The one had had very limited access to his person, and the other, well. Who knew what he might have done to him when he was unawares? Just think of all the times he had been unconscious in the Hospital Wing for days on end. It was chilling.

"How – how would they do it? Does it take a long time? Can they cast it in one go?" Harry swallowed with dismay when he saw the Doctor shake his head.

"I'm not a wizard, Harry. But I've known many of them, and have had a great deal of time to study them and the way they use their magic. To do something like this, well, they would need to build the blocks up one step at a time, over a number of years." He reached out a hand and placed it on top of the young wizard's, wishing he didn't have to deal such a crushing blow.

He did not know the boy, but he knew that for someone to be able to do this, they would need to be someone he trusted. Someone who could get close to him when he was vulnerable, like when he was asleep. "I'm so sorry Harry." He said, feeling it was rather inadequate, but sensing it would mean a lot to the young man.

"Thanks, I…I just don't know how to cope with this. I mean, I knew, _I knew_ that it was all a sham. I mean, he _told_ me himself, he said so. He said, that he made the mistake of caring about me _too_ much. I should have realised then, but I just…" His voice trailed off, and he looked at the wall, just staring, his eyes empty.

"I think I should let you sleep again. But before I do, there are things I should share with you. Whoever it is who did this to you cannot get to you here. They will not be able to track you down here, in fact they won't even know where, or when, _here _is. The fact of the matter is, is that I am what you would refer to as an alien. And this is my ship. I don't need wards to keep wizards out."

Without realising it, the Doctor had just granted Harry the one thing he'd always wanted. Even more than a family or any of that stuff. He'd given him his freedom. Oh sure, he was on this man's ship and all, but he didn't think the Doctor wanted to set him up to fight a war for him.

"_He sure doesn't!_" Whispered that voice in his head.

Hang on a tick? That wasn't his voice!

"Oh, yeah, one thing as well." The Doctor stuck his head back round the door. "The ship's alive. It's telepathic. Might fancy a chat now and then. Toodles!"

And with that he, was gone.

* * *

"Just so I can fix it, um, where are we?" Harry said dazedly, unable to take his eyes of all the..._people _wandering about. 

He was still trying to get his head around the idea that he was on another world. An _alien_ world at that. Magic certainly hadn't managed anything like this, well human magic anyway. The human magic he knew.

After waking up again and spending a long time trying to come to terms with his new situation and everything the Doctor had told him, he'd been completely blown away when said alien suggested they take a jaunt to some planet or other.

"Carsus! Home of the Library of Carsus, the largest known repository of knowledge in the whole entire universe is located on this planet. Right over there, in fact." He said, gesturing towards and impossibly tall building.

Harry wanted to crack a joke about the architect and what he might be trying to compensate for, but he didn't think it would go down very well, especially considering the architect might be a him or even a her. Heh, it could, be an it. And that was another thing, was there an etiquette he should follow whilst being an intrepid explorer? If he could even call himself an intrepid anything, that was.

He was brought back from his imagination by the voice of the Doctor calling him over to come and get his name badge. _Peculiar_, Harry thought, that getting into this Library was a bit like trying to get into the Ministry of Magic.

"Bureaucracy, it's the same wherever you go I'm afraid. Stick with me though, and we'll show these stiffs a thing or too, yeah." The Doctor said, looking a bit distracted.

Harry frowned, wondering if the man was really expecting him to be convinced with that declaration, or if he was just repeating some sound bite he'd heard somewhere or other. Deciding it wasn't really important, he shrugged and followed the Doctor inside.

There was a bit of a queue at the entrance, but after the Doctor flashed something that looked like a police officer's warrant card at the guards, they were let in and told to feel free to browse around. Once they were past the lobby area, and through some rather ornate gates-come-doors, Harry stopped sharply, shocked at what he saw before him.

"No books." He breathed, and the Doctor, who had taken out some retro looking 3-D glasses, took them off again to look at Harry.

"Oh, there are millions of them here, you just have to know where to look." Noting Harry's confused expression, the Doctor paused and then led him over to a console. "You see, humans are not the only race in the universe, obviously, and while we mainly learn from reading and stories, other races don't necessarily absorb information that way. So, when this place was created, the founders decided to store the knowledge here in such a way that everyone would be able to access it. That's not to say everyone would be able to understand it, because some concepts which seem rudimentary and sensible to you could seem like an incredible folly to others. Of course that's a true for the Earth as it is for anywhere else. So, all you have to do, is enter your species in here, like so, et voila!" He tapped a few things in and suddenly the air around them shimmered.

What once appeared as a black, unyielding vacuum was now full to the rafters with books, manuscripts and other documents. Dotted around were also sheets of glass with bright winking displays on them, and Harry looked on, mesmerised.

"A person could loose themselves in here quite easily." He murmured, "Why did you bring me here?" He questioned the Doctor.

"To show you that there is more. So much more." He replied quietly.

"More." Harry repeated, finding it difficult to form the word. It was as if the muscles in his mouth were finding it hard to fit around the sounds his mind wanted them to make. "More than what?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Not more than something specific. Just _more_. Your life can be so much more, if only you'll let me show it to you! You don't have to give up, and you don't have to go back. No one is indispensable Harry, not even because of a prophecy. Look at this place! How many of the pages in here contain prophecies do you think? And how many came true simply because the people involved believed them to be true? My people have traversed time and space, there are no definites, there are no fixed points. I know that secretly you still feel it is your responsibility, _it isn't_. Stay with me for a while, we're both alone." Harry looked like he was wavering and the Doctor stepped forward to press his point. "You can stay forever if you want, and if you do decide to return, I can still take you back before anyone misses you. The T.A.R.D.I.S. is a time machine you know." He smiled, and suddenly, Harry grinned back.

"Alright." He replied, and the Doctor whooped.

"Come on then!" He demanded and yanked on Harry's arm, leading him off towards one of the screens.

* * *

"Hey, watch it." Snapped a voice, and Harry careened forwards as he tripped over a pile of books. 

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and..." His voice trailed off as he looked over the... person he had bumped into.

It was an alien! His first proper, real-life alien. Well, apart from the ones outside and in the lobby, but the first one he had seen this close before. Funny, he thought the Doctor had loaded the human section. "Um..." He began, but stopped again when he realised he didn't know what to say.

For an alien, she looked remarkably like a human. Apart from the fact that she was rather petite and had long, pointed ears. There was a chiselled look to her features, as if she had been carved from marble by some sculptor. He could see how maybe someone might find her attractive, but privately he just thought she just looked weird.

_Must make sure not to say so out loud, at least, not where she can hear me, _he reminded himself.

"Hello?" He said, the question evident in the higher note at the end of the word.

"N'Tel'Quessir." The person or woman sniffed, and then snorted. "N'Tel'Que'Tethira." She muttered before looking away.

Harry was taken aback. She seemed to disapprove of him, which didn't really bother him too much, as what little he had seen of her was not exactly encouraging either.

But why was she speaking in a strange language, since she had shouted at him in English not twenty seconds ago? Deciding he really wasn't all that interested, though he did admit he was curious he turned to walk away.

"Not so fast sonny!" She shouted and caught him by the collar before he could get too far. Turning him around she took to studying him intently. Harry shifted awkwardly under her gaze.

"Um, Ma'am, but, um, is there something you wanted? I am very sorry for crashing into you like that but..."

"No, no, I'm sorry for being so rude. I've been by myself for a while, and have forgotten my manners it seems. It's pretty dark in here anyway, why with all these books they can't afford some good lights is beyond me, especially considering the way this place is constructed, but still. Perhaps they are merely trying to create an authentic atmosphere. I grew up in a library remarkably similar to this one, I often wonder if the founders ever visited it and decided to design this place in its image." She smiled, and had a wistful look in her eyes for but a moment before she seemed to shake it off.

"So, young man, are you not going to introduce yourself to a lady, as any proper young gentleman should?" She demanded, stepping back and crossing her arms expectantly. Harry coughed before laughing sheepishly. Drawing himself up to a point where he was almost two inches taller than her, he put on his best macho voice and held out a hand.

"Harry Potter at your service, my lady." He offered and she placed her hand in his in an old fashioned way he had seen in a film before.

Dudley had been out with some friends and Aunt Petunia was watching some old black and white film on the telly, he had happened to be passing and sneaked a look through the crack in the door. Remembering something else he bowed low over her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, young Harry. I am Alisrielle of Candlekeep." When he looked up, he was pleased to see no hint of recognition in her eyes when she said his name. Not that he had really expected it of course. Surely his fame was not as far reaching as to have made it to another planet? He really didn't think so, and was glad of it.

They laughed at little at their display, and he asked her about the place where she had grown up.

"It was a great library, like this one, and was heralded as the centre of knowledge on my world. It was called Candlekeep, and that is where my name comes from. That is the way my people introduce ourselves you see, we do not have family names as your people call them. My mother died in childbirth and my foster father was a famous scholar and sage. He took me in when I was but a baby, and raised me in Candlekeep. He died when I was twenty, and my foster sister and I were no longer welcome in the castle. They were hard times in the beginning, but we were alright in the end." She explained and Harry instantly felt more comfortable around the strange woman. She had not known her parents, just like him, and in a way, she had been abandoned by those meant to care for her.

"When you say your people, what do you mean? Not wanting to sound rude or anything, but..." He trailed off again, cursing himself for not knowing how to say what he wanted to say. Though, that was hardly his fault. When one is told as a young child not to ask questions, and then one is kept in the dark by one's teachers, it becomes hard to overcome that pattern of behaviour.

"What am I, do you mean? Don't worry, I am not offended. I am an elf. I was born on Toril, a world that has been gone for a long time." She replied sadly and Harry winced.

"I'm sorry if I - "

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault." She cut him off, before sighing. "It wasn't anyone's in fact. The sun my planet orbited died, it went supernova. There wasn't anything anyone could do except try to escape and save as many as possible. Although, nothing is ever quite that simple, of course." She paused, as if she was trying to decide whether or not to tell him any more. Something in his face must have spurred her on, because she began speaking again, quickly and fervently.

"You see, when one of my people... _departs_ from this life, they travel to the Blessed Realm - Arvandor. I don't know if any of your kind know of these legends, but they _are _true, not just legends. Arvandor is on another plane, and so far I have not been able to establish whether it was destroyed when Toril was consumed." She looked very worried and Harry really didn't know what to say. He was feeling rather out of his depth here.

"Is - is there someone particular that you are trying to reach there, then?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yes, my bonded mate - Xan of Evereska. He - he departed many years ago now. I had thought to get him back before now, but it wasn't possible. I was... prevented from reaching him and nothing I did or said made any difference. I thought for a while to open a gate and simply join him, rather than bring him back, but because of a choice I had made, a foolish choice, that too was denied me. So now, I am trying again. Those who... opposed me last time may not be able to this time and - but I don't even know if he will want to, if he is there and - Seldarine! Listen to me! I am so sorry for offloading all this on to you. You a merely a boy and do not need some tired old woman telling you all her troubles." She said, getting up off the floor from where they had been sitting and turning to sort through the books he had knocked over.

Maybe it was his 'saving people thing', as Hermione had once called it.

Maybe it was the strange kinship he felt for this desperately lonely woman.

Maybe it was just that he wanted to help, to see two people happy again. Who knew?

What he did know, is that he was going to do his damnedest to help her. And perhaps, in doing so, help himself.

"You know, Alisrielle, I have a friend who I think would love to meet you." He said, and smiled as she slowly turned around.

* * *

"An elf from Toril? How exciting! You know, I've been to your world before, and it was such a blast! I mean you've got all those gods knocking about the place, like Lathander - way too chirpy in the mornings he was, and damsels in distress, knights in shining armour, I'm telling you it's like something out of a Dungeons and Dragons game." The Doctor, who looked like he was going into hyperdrive, paused. "Hang on a tick, though, wasn't your world destroyed? I knew some people got away, though I don't know how since none of you created interstellar travel." He asked, looking at her curiously. 

"Yes, it was. Not long before the actual blast, myself and some others opened a gate to the Abyss. From there, we traversed the planes until we reached a world that had the necessary ships. We stayed together initially, but gradually we began to disperse. Some of my people were angry and frightened by the new life we had brought them to, believing they should have died with their lands. In the end, everyone went their own way until I was left alone. Since that time, I have been unable to open a gate to any planes which were close or connected to Toril. I came here as a last resort, thinking that there might be some answers among the knowledge of the N'Tel'Quessir." Alisrielle explained to a suddenly serious Doctor.

"You wish to reach Arvandor, don't you? Why? To die, or to bring someone back?" He demanded shortly and Harry gasped, shocked at the harsh tone, and that the Doctor seemed to know instinctively what she was hinting at. He kept quiet though, thinking he didn't really have much to add to the conversation at this point.

"I cannot die. Not even if I wanted to. I wish to find my bonded mate. I _need_ to see him. Whether it is to say a final goodbye, or to welcome him back will remain up to him. I do not know which it will be, Tahil'amin was ever an unpredictable soul, no matter how much he tried to deny it. I am not sure if he will want to live this life of uncertainty, he never seemed to enjoy it when we first met. His Evereska is gone, and if he is still out there somewhere, lost in the black of space, he may wish to remain that way." She replied and the Doctor's face softened.

"Do you really think he will want to be without you?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Only he can answer that question. But enough. I have done nothing but talk about myself and my problems. Why, we only just met. I know little of both of you, and that will not do at all! Tell me, young travellers, where are you bound?" She questioned and the Doctor laughed.

"Anywhere and everywhere, and you can refer to me as a 'young traveller' any time, though hardly accurate, it is a refreshing thing to hear." He declared and Alisrielle frowned.

"How old _are_ you then?" She wanted to know, and Harry turned to face him too.

"Not sure exactly. More than nine hundred and less than a thousand, I'd say. It's been a wild ride, I can tell you." He replied and Harry gasped again. He really should stop doing that, he told himself, it made him sound like the village idiot.

_Or Arthur Dent. _Murmured the ship and Harry shivered a little.

It was still rather unsettling to have a ship whisper in his mind unexpectedly, but he was forcing himself to get used to it. Seen in the right light, it could be rather comforting, instead of feeling like an invasion.

"Ha! And here I was hoping to meet someone older than me. What a shame. Oh well, can't win 'em all, or so I've heard." Alisrielle replied and the Doctor shook his head.

"Well, Harry, we'll just have to take her word for it. You and I both know it's rude to ask a lady her age." He said with a knowing wink. "So, I take it my intrepid friend here brought you to meet me hoping I could help?" He asked.

"Something like that." Harry muttered and the Doctor smiled at him warmly before addressing the elf.

"The short answer, is, I'm not sure. My people know something of interplanar travel, but have always frowned on it. I think I might know how to reach it, but I'd need to work a few things out beforehand. How about you come along with us for a while? I'm currently trying to show Harry how much life can offer him, it wouldn't hurt to have another helping hand. And I'd really like to know about that part about not being able to die. Not a first for me, mind you, but not at all commonplace." The Doctor offered, and the strange woman Harry had stumbled over smiled.

"Lead the way!"

* * *

"Okay, okay, okay... Where to go?" The Doctor mumbled, pressing things on the console and typing on what looked like a laptop computer Harry had seen once in a magazine advert. 

Both Harry and Alisrielle, (call me Alis she had said earlier), watched bemusedly as the man muttered and talked with himself.

"Is he always like this?" Alis asked in an aside to Harry.

"I don't know for sure really, I've only been with him for about three days or so I think. But judging by the last few hours, I reckon yeah, he's probably like this all the time." He replied with a smirk and Alis winked back.

It was still strange to talk with her like she was anyone else and then to look at her and be confronted by her alieness to him. He didn't feel so with the Doctor and he had to admit it was probably because the man looked just like a normal human. He made a mental note not to treat the elf any different from any of his other friends, despite her differences.

"So, Harry, tell me more about yourself. The Doctor said you are a wizard?" She asked, her curiosity evident in her face.

In some ways the idea of explaining about himself and his life was a novelty. In the muggle world, the people he met were usually neighbours of his Aunt and Uncle, and only knew him as 'that awful criminal boy'.

In the wizarding world, everyone recognised the scar first and his face later. Though, none of them really _knew_ who he was, at times he wasn't really sure himself. Though, he had read somewhere that that was rather normal for teenagers especially, and people in general.

So, he slowly explained about his life and skimmed over the events of the last few years. Unfortunately, the realisations he had undergone on his seventeenth birthday were still rather fresh in his mind, as was the information the Doctor had given him about the blocks placed on his magic. Thus, he finished his tale with a heavy dose of bitterness.

"And, well, I realised that I had spent most of my life trying to abide by the plans other people had made for me. I also realised that there was no one who seemed to be in my corner. Oh, there was someone once, but he died two years ago. And even then, though I really believe he did care, circumstances were such that he couldn't interfere. In my heart of hearts, I suppose I am still a little angry at him." He confessed, startling himself with that discovery.

"You wish he could have done more." The Doctor said from the other side of the control room. Harry was not surprised, the man seemed to know everything there was to know about him instinctively, and while he would have been irritated by it had it been anyone else. The man was still letting him make his own choices. That in itself was enough to bypass an ill will between them.

So, Harry nodded and the man went back to his unintelligible mutterings.

"I can well understand that feeling." Alis said, leaning back on her hands and scanning the walls of the T.A.R.D.I.S. leisurely. "My foster father, Gorion, hid things from me, things that I think I had a right to know about. I believe he felt he was sheltering me in some way, and to this day I can't decide whether I would have preferred to know or not, but it would have been nice to be given the choice. Then, once he was gone, well. I missed having a parent." She said with a small but not unhappy sigh.

"A parent. Yes, I know what you mean. I've never had a doting parent that I can remember and it's hard to accept the fact that it's too late for that now. Oh, I know you'll laugh because compared to the two of you I'm still a child. And I suppose I am, in years maybe. But not in mind or heart. Over time, it's all just been too much and while I don't deny I've lost all my innocence as such, I have few of the illusions children my age do. Don't misunderstand me though, I'm not saying that I know everything there is to know - far from it." He laughed. "I think I'm trying to say that I know far more about the world and the people in it than I would like to at times." He finished and looked down at his shoes.

"Well, on that happy, happy note, why don't we take you to a new world that you know nothing about, hmm? I've got it! Barcelona!" Interjected the Doctor.

"Isn't that in Spain?" Harry protested and the Doctor smiled at him goofily, before hitting a button on the console. Harry and Alis both yelped as the whole ship lurched, though the elf got her footing back fairly quickly.

"Hold on!" Shouted the Doctor, somewhat belatedly.

* * *

"Tell me about Xan. He was your mate, didn't you say? How did he die?" Harry asked, and though the Doctor was busy making repairs, Harry could see his ears pricking with interest. 

They had spent five days on Barcelona and Harry still wasn't able to get over the fact that the dogs had no noses. How did they smell, for cripes sake? Aside from that puzzle, it had been a relaxing stay, until his magic had surged uncontrollably and some of the circuits in the ship had blown. After a lot of poking and prodding by the Doctor and a little from Alis, they had worked out that the psychic link between himself and the ship had made his magic unstable. The Doctor confessed then, that while he had known many wizards, none had travelled on his ship.

It wasn't the end of the world though, and after the Doctor had spoken at length with the T.A.R.D.I.S., she agreed to help him strengthen the connection between himself and his core so that he would have better control. The man had explained that his was to be done through his subconscious mind while he slept, and would gradually build up until it was something he could sense while awake. In the mean time, she was lessening their connection during the day to prevent another surge.

Not having anything better to do while the Doctor worked on the ship, and neither of them being at all capable of helping, Harry and Alis had sat down and talked of inconsequential things. As was usual for this type of situation though, the subject matter did not stay mundane for very long.

"Why would you want to know about something like that, I - it was very painful and I..." Alis broke off abruptly before sighing heavily.

"Please, have you not spoken to _anyone _about it?" He pushed, partly for his own selfish reasons - he really wanted to know. But also because he felt like he needed to share in her pain. To be better able to understand her perhaps, he wasn't sure. Just that he really needed to hear this.

"Alright. We, Xan and I and my friends were on a mission of sorts to confront a vampire who had set up a coven in the Amnish city of Athkatla. Her name was Bodhi, and she used to be an elf. Xan was a very powerful warrior and mage, and when he was young he was found worthy to wield a Moonblade. This, among other things, made him a defender of the elven people. We had met Bodhi before, a few times, but this was to be It - the final battle, as it were. When we arrived outside her lair, she –" Alisrielle's voice became taut as if she were trying to force the words out of her throat.

"She tried to entice him away, she wanted to turn him. He basically told her to go to hell, but she turned all her dark powers on him and tried to use her magic to force him. He wouldn't let her. He used the power of his Moonblade to save him from her by killing him in such a way that he would die before she had time to turn him. The blade extinguished itself and sent his soul to Arvandor. I could not go with him, though I wanted to. How I wanted to!" She was crying softly now, and Harry suddenly felt bad about bringing it up.

"I'm... so sorry." He said, feeling like he was going to choke on his words too.

"It's OK. It was a long time ago, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, and feels like it only happened a few hours ago." She replied and Harry nodded.

"When I lost someone close - Sirius, it happened right in front of my eyes as well. He, he had run after me to save me from something when he should have stayed at home where it was safe! As should have I. He ended up in a battle with his cousin and he was laughing and taunting her. She threw a curse at him and he fell backwards into the Veil of Death. I screamed and screamed and tried to run after him, but Remus - he was a friend of my parents like Sirius, well Remus, he held me back. I wish he hadn't sometimes." He felt strangely good for admitting that out loud.

"People say it takes strength to die, to face the end. But I don't think it's true. I think it takes more courage to face the same struggle every day, trying to scratch out some meaning and happiness out of life. I have lived - for so long. Sometimes it seems interminable. Sometimes the years have flowed by and I find I haven't moved an inch. I know that there are no answers to be had, other than the ones you find inside yourself. Those are the most important, I think." Alis said and while Harry thought about it, the Doctor dropped what he was doing, tools hitting the metal grate at his feet with a loud _clang_.

"Alisrielle of Candlekeep! Now I know where I have heard that name before!" He exclaimed excitedly, rushing over to sit with them, practically rocking back and forwards in agitation.

"What do you mean, heard the name before? I thought you didn't know who I was?" Alis declared sharply.

"Yes, yes," The Doctor flapped his hands dismissively. "Not at first, but it rang a bell and well, I've met so many people I didn't really think much of it. But now I remember. Gorion's ward! Alaundo's Prophecy! I told you I found your world fascinating didn't I? And no other period of your history was more explosive than the Bhaalspawn Wars! Why, you're her, aren't you? The one who defeated the Five and brought peace and all that stuff? Am I right? I am, aren't I!?" He demanded eagerly, and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I suppose so, but it's not how it sounds! Practically none of the stories have one single grain of truth. I'm not a hero or twenty feet tall, or all-powerful or anything. I had friends, and to be honest they did most of the work. If that stupid Solar hadn't interfered then..." She sighed. "Oh, but what's the use, you'll believe what you want to, no matter what I say." She huffed and crossed her arms.

"You took it, didn't you? You took over the Throne of Bhaal and became a God in his place? Or, well a Goddess I should say." Harry was looking back and forth between these two peculiar aliens, his head jerking back and forth like he was watching a tennis match on fast forward.

Gods and Goddesses? This was like something out of a muggle fantasy book! Sure beat the hell out of History of Magic though, that was for sure.

"I did. And what I fool I was to do so!" Alis got up and started pacing. "Oh the taint wasn't a problem. With the Solar's help I was able to purge it and become the benevolent protector and mother-goddess I always thought I would be. But it didn't matter. The night before Xan died, he told me something important. Something I should have heeded. He said: _'But does being of one heart not matter more than living forever? And is a real, fleeting sunset not more beautiful than an eternal glow in one of the corners of the Blessed Realm?_' And I replied: '_An eternity in paradise is appealing. But not so without you.'_ And, Tahil'amin, he said: '_And entirely so without you._'" Alis stopped speaking and couldn't seem to look at either Harry or the Doctor.

After a long moment, Harry cleared his throat. "So why did you do it? I mean, from what I've understood about what the two of you have just said, is that you took up some throne or other and became a Goddess - immortal. What were you hoping to achieve? Unless you were trying to –" He stopped and stared incredulously at the Doctor and the elf, the latter who had swung round to face him with tears in her eyes.

"Ah, so you've guessed it. Clever wizard. I was hoping I could bring him back and that through our bond he could ascend with me. That way, we would always be together and he would have the time he so desperately craved. He was always afraid of dying and always lamented that we could find no one to marry us properly. I should have realised that the others – Ao, the Seldarine and Corellon Larethian in particular would not allow me to interfere. Despite being an elf, I was ever the outsider, particularly after I ascended." Her voice was bitter and her eyes told a similar tale.

Harry for one was amazed at everything he had seen and heard in the last week. Somehow, coming away with the Doctor and hearing this incredibly sad story made his own problems seem small in comparison. He was no longer worried about defeating the Dark Lord, or the way Dumbledore had tried to manipulate him. He was so far removed from the sphere of their control, that they now seemed rather petty and silly.

Of course, the people dying and suffering was nothing to be flippant about, but if the actions of one teenager really affected their world that much, then they had some serious evaluating to do. A society could not afford to pin their hopes on one man, for something he did as a baby.

After all, who knew when said man would be swept away by a Time Lord and his T.A.R.D.I.S.?

Hey, it could happen!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter, Baldur's Gate and associated mods or Doctor Who, or anything else you recognise for that matter:)**

**A/N: I'll try to keep it short. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially those who raised some very important points. I have tried my best to act on them while keeping to the thread of the story I wanted to write. So here is the next chapter!  
**

* * *

Chapter Three

* * *

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."  
** Douglas Adams**  
_ English humorist & science fiction novelist _(1952 - 2001)

* * *

Harry blinked again, trying to take in his surroundings. 

Part of him was irritated with himself for still looking like a simpleton whenever they went somewhere new. The other parts of him were hoping he would never lose this feeling of awe and excitement at seeing a new place. He felt that to lose that part of himself would send him down a spiral he did not wish to travel. He had no inkling to see what might lay there.

Quite some time had passed since the Doctor had first appeared in his bedroom at Grimmauld Place, and what a grim old place it was!

※

He'd discovered that he hadn't brought much with him, only his wand, his photo album and for some bizarre reason, a pair of thick woollen socks which Mrs Weasley had knitted for him when she saw all the holes in his. Harry wondered if he had been channelling the Headmaster at some point and found that rather disturbing. After all, if it was only socks now, who knew what it might be in the future? Could he one day find himself skipping off the Diagon Alley to purchase himself some magenta robes complete with sparkles on the hem? He really hoped not.

When he confessed this to the Doctor and, after the man got the laughter under control, he assured him that the magical overload he underwent had removed the block on his magic, and that if he continued to work with the mind of the ship then he would gradually be able to gain more, and improved control. This went a long way towards cheering him up.

Having remembered something Alis had told him when they met, he'd sought her out to see if she could help him with his magic. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

"We're just too different. You are human, I am an elf. Our magic is not the same, though it does come from within for both of us. Before I ascended I was trained as a ranger, and could only cast healing and protective magics. We access our power in completely different ways. In fact, we probably do not even speak the same language when we cast." She had told him and that brought up something that Harry had been meaning to ask.

"Doctor, why can I understand Alis? I do not believe she had studied English, so why can I understand every word she says, except elvish?" He wanted to know and the Doctor frowned.

"The psychic field generated by the T.A.R.D.I.S translates everything for you, but I suppose it _does_ have its limits. I _had_ thought it was self-updating, but maybe I need to give it more data to work with. I've not really spent all that much time with elves, since they're rather aloof as a race. I shall have to look into it." He paused. "You know, in some ways, you remind me of an old friend of mine, Rose. She asked the same question not long after our first trip. It's why I told you about the ship right at the off-go. She was _not_ pleased that I didn't tell her the ship could get inside her head, I can tell you!" He replied and Harry shook his head.

While the elf and the Time Lord were working to locate this Blessed Realm of hers, it gave Harry rather a lot of time to himself. This was not something he was unused to, but given his current circumstances, he welcomed it. He only wished he had been able to bring some of his school books with him.

And Hedwig.

He really missed her.

She was the first friend he ever had, and the most loyal. Dumbledore had taken her when he brought him to Grimmauld Place, saying that since his friends were all there, he wouldn't be needing her to send letters. Last he heard she was at Hogwarts, in the care of Hagrid. At least the half-giant would look after her properly, that was some consolation. The thought of going back for her and the books had crossed his mind more than once, but he dismissed it every time. It was too dangerous.

After some intense introspection, and decidedly _un_healthy brooding, he attempted something which in hindsight, may, or _may not_, have been a good idea.

The subconscious study sessions with the ship had begun to have a noticeable effect on him. Well, noticeable to him that was, who knew about the other two? He no longer found it difficult to concentrate and work his way though an idea, from beginning to end. He could see the tendrils of his thoughts flowing out from either side of a point, linking here and there, making him see possibilities arise from idle speculation, and other people's arguments which he would never have been able to before.

When he felt like he was in control of his wandering mind for the first time, he decided to turn that control inwards, and find his core. Neither the Doctor nor the T.A.R.D.I.S had given him any timeframe from which to work, so he was not aware that he might just have been rushing things.

Sat on the floor in his room, immersed in a meditative state his tuned his awareness inwards, to see the magic flowing through his veins. Breathing deeply and slowly, he began the journey down, flowing against the current to find the place where it all began. After what seemed like hours, he found it.

It was like liquid. A luminous, smooth pool which seemed calm for the moment, but which he also sensed could turn into a raging torrent in a split second. Sinking lower, he immersed himself and surrendered to it.

How long he remained like that, he did not know. What he did know, was that for the second time already in his short stay, he woke up in the Doctor's infirmary.

※

"What happened?" He asked croakily and found the Doctor and Alis looking at him reproachfully.

"You exhausted yourself. You spent hours practically catatonic! Did you not realise that despite being in a deep meditation, that your body still needs food, sustenance?" Alis demanded, and the Doctor shot a warning look at her.

"Clearly, he didn't and so clearly, we failed to give him all the information he needed before taking any action. Harry is not a child; do not scold him as if he was one. Harry, I am sorry we made assumptions and withheld knowledge from you. It was unintentional. Next time you need to meditate, please let one of us know so that we can wake you if you miss a meal." He asked and Harry nodded, too surprised that the man was not trying to stop him. The other man must have read his emotions on his face, because he smiled.

"It's your life to lead, and it's your power to find. And I must say, you are doing an admirable job of it too. Why, your magic is practically singing around your body now! Try something." He said and Harry reached for his wand. The Doctor snatched it away. "No, no, try something _without_ your wand. Don't think it, don't say an incantation, just will it." He declared and Harry gave him a dubious glance.

_What to do_? He wondered. Then he thought of his first charms lesson, and concentrated on a plastic cup on the table beside his bed. Focusing hard, he willed it to rise. It rattled a little before staying in place. Then, for just a moment, it raised an inch in the air. Breathing out a shocked gasp, Harry lost his concentration and the cup landed back on the table.

"Well now, isn't _that_ interesting." The Doctor said, his eyes full of pride and triumph. Alis too looked very impressed, but smiled sheepishly when she noticed Harry's eyes on her.

"Sorry for snapping at you Harry. I had no right to treat you like that. It's a failing of mine, to think of everyone else as children." She explained and Harry debated what he was going to say. Deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt, he smiled back and offered a hand for her to shake.

"It's alright. Compared to you, we probably all seem like children." He replied, and while she clasped his hand warmly, she shook her head vigorously.

"No, that's not true. At least, it shouldn't be. Sure, I have lived for a long time, but that doesn't really mean anything. I spent most of that time sulking and granting prayers. When you have the power to do whatever you want, things begin to loose their value and you regress back to childhood. Most of my power died with Toril, and I'm hoping now that I'll have a chance to start over." She paused, thinking. "I shouldn't have dismissed you out of hand before when you asked about magic. I can't learn your spells and vice versa, but I _can _teach you about shaping your will and exploring your mind. If you'll let me, that is." She offered shyly and Harry nodded his acceptance.

"And I can teach you, oh, about everything! But also give you somewhere safe to become who you want to be, and not who everyone else wants you to be." The Doctor added his part, and Harry was suddenly gladder than ever that this funny alien had stopped him from killing himself.

For the first time in a long time, he was happy to be alive.

* * *

After some effort and research on the part of the Doctor and Alis, they had found their way to Arvandor - the Blessed Realm of the elves of Toril. Communion between the ship and Alis found the location of this placed locked in the T.A.R.D.I.S' memory banks, only the Time Lords had referred to it as Arvanaith. It had been locked away because as the Doctor had previously stated, they disapproved of interplanar travel. But they had resolved to chart it, in case there was ever a need to travel there. Well, there was, and here they were. 

Harry was currently standing with the Doctor near the ship, while Alis had gone ahead to try and locate her Xan. Neither of them felt comfortable in witnessing their reunion, and would have felt like they were intruding if they had gone with her. So, they were waiting. For the moment, Harry was happy to let the peace of this place seep its way into his system and calm him like none of Snape's potions had ever been able to before.

"I can see why she is worried he won't want to leave." The Doctor said quietly, and Harry nodded.

"Me too. If we stay too long, I'm not sure I'll want to either. Not that they'd probably let such awful N'Tel'Quess as you and I linger here for long!" He replied and the Doctor chuckled.

"Elves are a touchy people, no doubt about that. They tried to protect their society by isolating themselves from outsiders, but forgot that people in isolation tend to stagnate. I'm very surprised any of them even agreed to leave their world, despite the fact that it was facing destruction." He mused and Harry shrugged, really not able to comment on it, and not feeling any need to.

"About what you said, about not having to go back. I know that it's a time machine and everything, but I do feel I should go back at some point, before I'm old and grey. I know you said Voldemort's not my sole responsibility, but I - something inside me needs to defeat him personally. Perhaps it's only a desire for revenge, for what he did to me and my family, I don't know." He paused and glanced at the Doctor, only find him listening intently. "Actually, I do know, I _want_ to make him pay. And to make sure he can't do the same to anyone else." He declared and the Doctor nodded.

"That, I can understand. Will you let me help you?" He offered and Harry smiled.

"Of course." He replied, and that was settled.

* * *

After maybe an hour or so, the two men saw Alis heading back towards them, alone. Both felt a sinking feeling in their stomachs, and sympathy for the elf. When she got closer they could see the abject misery on her face. 

"I can't find him. He - He's not here. He does not answer when I call." She said, breathless. She paused before sinking to the ground, and cried out in absolute despair. "Corellon Larethian! Rillifane! Why did you take him from me?! Why? Where is he? Bring him back to me!" She was practically screaming by the last words and buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

"WHO CALLS THE AVATAR OF THE LEAF LORD?" Came a thundering voice from nearby, and all three turned to look.

Before them was a green mist, where the semblance of a figure could barely be made out. Alis seemed to recognise this figure as she turned to face it, flinging her body forwards in a pose of supplication.

"Mighty Oak, I come seeking my bonded, Xan of Evereska. He who once wielded the Moonblade you forged. I beg you to help me. You would not let me join him here, and you would not let me raise him to walk the Prime. But now I beg you to reconsider. I will give all I have. Take my divinity! I do not need it! I do not want it. I should never have accepted it. Please! Take anything, but let me see him, let me walk with him again." She seemed to exhaust herself by then end of her plea, and slumped back to the ground.

Harry moved forwards to help her, but the Doctor held him back, shaking his head.

"DAUGHTER WHO WAS DENIED US. YOU WERE TOO YOUNG TO BE GIVEN SUCH A CHOICE. PERHAPS WE WERE TOO HARSH. YOUR BARGAIN IS ACCEPTED. WE THANK YOU FOR SAVING THOSE YOU COULD. GO IN PEACE, CHILD OF THE TREE."

With a snap, the figure disappeared and left in its place when the mists cleared, lay an elf.

※

After pausing briefly in shock, Alis scrambled on her hands and knees, falling a few times in her hurry, but hardly seeming to notice it. When she reached the elf lying on the ground, she slowly turned him over.

"Xan?" Alis called softly. Harry and the Doctor could barely hear her from where they were standing. Sharing a look, they decided to abandon their previous ideas about giving the two of them privacy, and moved closer.

The elf that was still lying untidily on the ground groaned lightly and tried to sit up, somewhat unsteadily. Alis followed his movements, and seemed, rather understandably unwilling to let him get too far away from her. The instant their eyes met both men felt a ripple of magic hit them in the stomachs which nearly knocked them off their feet. When they regained their balance, they saw Alis and Xan were locked in what looked like a very passionate embrace.

"Maybe we should head back to the ship for a while." The Doctor suggested and Harry nodded, both of them tearing their eyes away from the display and walking rather briskly back to the T.A.R.D.I.S.

※

"You're here. How are you here?" Xan mumbled shakily. "Alisrielle, they told me... so many things. When... when you took over your father's throne, they told me that you were lost to me. I couldn't bare it. Arvandor while serene and safe, lacked you. I knew I could not be happy here. So I appealed to Corellon Larethian, to put me to sleep, a deep untroubled sleep until such time that we could be together again. Is this why you are here, Estel'amin? Have you come here, to stay?"

Alis looked deep into his eyes and knew she could not lie. Not to Xan. Not ever. "No. That was not my intention, at least, not all of it. I came to see you, to ask if you would return to the Prime with me and live the life we were so cruelly denied. Then, when it is time we can depart and return here together, as we were meant to." She replied and braced herself for his answer.

Their bond, which had been dormant for so long, had only just begun healing itself. For the first time in a long time she did not have the benefit of feeling what he was feeling, and it felt like one of her limbs had been cut off.

"I - it's like a dream. I - something which I have wanted for us for so long, to now be offered it so... easily. It makes me wonder if this is really happening. But it is, isn't it? I always feel like I'm trying to keep up with you. I was like this in the beginning too I know. Tell me, what is the world like now? I may have been sleeping, but I know a very long time has passed since we last spoke in your dreams." Xan's eyes had a spark of hope in them which spurred her on.

"The world has changed, a'mael. Toril is gone. The sun burned itself out and when it died, so did the world we knew. When than happened, many decided to depart for Arvandor. Some died with it, their spirits dispersed. Others followed me to other worlds." She told him and Xan closed his eyes briefly.

"So, despite all my fears and doom saying, the People live on. This is truly a wonderful thing. But you, what has happened to you? Are you... are you a Goddess now? And if you are, how could you still desire a mere mortal such as me?" He said with such sadness that Alis too, felt a knife pressing through her heart.

"Xan, I. I accepted ascension because I thought I would have the power to bring you back, so we could be together again. I was being as foolishly naive as you always said I was. The Seldarine would not let me interfere and I was not strong enough to overcome all of them. I didn't even try, I could never sink that low. After looking for so long I found my way here, and cried out to Rillifane that he could take my divinity if I could have you back." She paused before reaching out to hold Xan's face in her hands. "I come with no expectations. I love you more now than I ever have. If you want me to go, I will. If you want me, but want to remain here, then I will, happily. If you want to see the new world that has opened up before us, then I will see every new sight with you, free of the taint at last."

There was a long pause.

"When do we leave?"

* * *

"Welcome aboard, Xan! I'm the Doctor, and this is Harry. He's a wizard, not quite like you, but he's crackingly good with magic. And this," He said gesturing wildly around the control room, "This is the T.A.R.D.I.S., which stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. Basically, it's my ship and time machine. I am a Time Lord, I don't know if you may have heard of me -" 

"But I have. You came to Evereska, a long time ago. You tried to visit the Academy where I was studying. You wore a different face then, but it was still you." Xan replied and the Doctor grinned madly.

"Yes, yes, oh my! That _does _take me back years! Of course, it was one of my previous regenerations, and he was far more academic than me. Bit stuffy, if you want my opinion, but never mind. So," He said, looking at his three companions. "Where to? I was thinking we might go and meet Agatha Christie, I've _always_ wanted to meet Agatha Christie!" He declared enthusiastically.

"Agatha who?" Asked Harry, and the Doctor frowned.

"This is going to take a while." He replied, running a hand over the back of his head while the T.A.R.D.I.S. laughed in the silence of his mind.

* * *

～ **_Ten Years Later_** ～

**_  
_**"Harry, I am merely trying to advise you to exercise a little care in your _liaisons_, nothing more. It is not a criticism." Xan was saying as the five of them trooped back into the ship, the doors banging closed behind them. They all automatically braced as the ship lurched with their departure from the world it had been visiting.

"I _was _being cautious for pity's sake! How was I to know that she would go from trying to wedge her foot in my pants to claiming I had fathered a set of triplets on her and refused to take any responsibility. Mellon'amin, I think I just have a knack for attracting crazy females." Harry replied with a resigned smile.

"Ivaebhin, you grow older but you remain blissfully unaware of the effect you have on the females of your species. And some other species too!" Alisrielle laughed from her position near the console. Xan and the Doctor laughed too, while Harry gave her a naughty wink.

"Oh, I am _very_ aware, so aware, in fact that I am not stupid enough to sleep with just anyone who offers it. Not after that one time on Arcateen 5." He replied, shaking his head. The Doctor looked up to raised his eyebrows at Harry, before going back to what he was doing.

"Yes, well." Said Xan.

"Exactly." Agreed Harry, and after a pause, they all laughed.

※

The first year after the Doctor saved Harry's life was the hardest.

He was plagued often by nightmares about what the people he's left behind might be facing. For despite them not being there when he was at his lowest, he still felt like he had abandoned them to face the horror of Voldemort and everything he was capable of.

He knew logically that he was under no obligation to remain, and fight their war for them. His mind knew this, his heart sometimes could not help remind him of some of the good times. He tried to imagine what his parents or Sirius would say. It was hard to be sure. He'd had so little time with any of them.

He was safe, he was happy. He had been able to live his life the way _he _wanted. He still helped people.

The Doctor, he had discovered was a very complex person. He was always there to lend a hand, no matter who was in trouble, and he followed a highly structured moral code. It might be hard for some to decipher the man's reasons for doing things and why he acted the way he did. But Harry felt, after he'd had a chance to study the other man at length, that he understood.

The Doctor's part in the ending of the Time War and subsequent destruction of his people still weighed on him after all these years. That much was obvious. One of the things which Harry found refreshing and inspiring about the man was that he didn't try to deny this fact. He accepted it. Accepted that it shaped everything he was and everything he did.

Of course, he'd thought about going back. Probably a million times or more. They'd even discussed it, over and over again. All of them together, and individually. But they hadn't returned. Not yet.

Harry was twenty seven.

He now had complete control over his magic, and hadn't used his wand for years.

From the Doctor he learned about the infinite universe and the people in it. He'd learned the value of how much out there that there was still to discover. That curiosity mixed with a little caution could produce wonderful results. And some not-so wonderful ones too. He'd also learned to embrace that feeling you get when you just think on the fly and go with the flow. He'd found out who he was, and understood that in the essentials, he was who he was going to be for the rest of his life.

When he thought back to the hot headed teenager he once was, so unaware and so in the dark, he had to laugh, a rueful laugh. He was no longer bitter. Not after so much time. Though, he had to admit to himself, that once faced with those he once knew, he might have to deal with those resurfacing emotions. In some ways, he had forgiven them. He'd had to, to be able to move on. But he was not arrogant enough to think himself all noble and self sacrificing.

At times, he was angry. With the Dursleys. With Dumbledore. With Remus, Sirius, his parents, Peter.

Objectively, he could see that people made mistakes. As a full grown adult, who'd had some experience of life, he could see them as they people they were and not all knowing grown-ups. Given the same situation, in their position, he could not say that he wouldn't have made similar or worse mistakes. Not that he would have treated a child in his care they way he had been treated, far from it.

But he could have made errors in judgement, trusted the wrong people, all of that. He _had _in fact done that several times in the past. But that didn't stop him from feeling angry with those who had either been charged with his care or had nominated themselves to protect him.

They had always wanted more. More from him. More than he even knew how to give. And he was so young, he was _still_ so young, especially compared to his companions of the last ten years.

From Alis he had learned about listening to his instincts and trusting his own heart. He had learned how to control his temper, how to think clearly in the face of adversity. She'd also shown him how to pack a mean punch, and taught him about nature and how to care for it. She had shown him the skills she had learned as a ranger and he'd found he had a natural affinity for speaking to animals. He was not limited to snakes anymore, and the Doctor had told him that among wizards he would be classed as a beast-speaker.

From Xan he had learned about his magic. Though Xan too was an elf, his magic was closer to the kind wizards used than Alis'. Among his people Xan was known as an Enchanter, and once Harry was able to completely discard his wand, Xan was able to show him how to bend and twist his magic. It was almost like ensnaring the senses and bewitching the mind. He was sure Snape wouldn't appreciate the comparison, or the sentiment behind it however.

The years went by. Heck, the years had practically flown by. He had had a chance to live a life of his own making, not one directed by a prophecy and those who thought to bend him to their will. It was difficult to describe the process he had undergone over the last decade. He wasn't sure he would ever be able to articulate it properly, and he was probably not the first, nor the last to come to such realisations.

It was like when something bad happens, and people say that in time, it won't feel so bad.

When it's you in that situation, it's very hard to believe. Such a statement can seem dismissive, and it normally is. Because the person who is saying it can't stand the empathy they feel for your pain, they usually don't even realise that the clenching in their stomach _is _empathy. So, they try and offer solutions to dispel those negative emotions because they find it uncomfortable.

But now, ten years after trying to commit suicide, Harry understood it to be truth. Things do get better with time. Things _had_ got better with time.

And now that he had moved on, he was ready to go back.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter, Baldur's Gate and associated mods or Doctor Who, or anything else you recognise for that matter :) **

**A/N: Back again, let's do the Hula! OK, so here is another chapter. And, as promised, we swinging somewhat away from the Baldur's Gate/Doctor Who content, and back towards the Harry Potter stuff. I do try not to get too engrossed in one genre, especially since this is supposed to be a Harry Potter story. **

**Please forgive my blatant homage to _The Princess Bride_. I do it in almost every fic I write, because I love it so much. **

**Thank you to Calanor, who has been so supportive over the last several months, with beta reading and help with content. You are an inspiration! **

* * *

Chapter Four

* * *

"The louder he talked of his honour, the faster we counted our spoons."

**Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)**

* * *

"Harry, the three of us have a confession to make. We have been keeping something from you. We have _not_ done this for you own good. We have done it because we weren't sure for a long time if there would be anything to tell. Now we think there might be, we want to explain it to you." The Doctor said, and Harry frowned. 

Some time ago, he might have been angry that they hid something from him. Not now though. Now he was older, he could understand why people sometimes did what they did. Added to that, he had spent enough time with these three to trust them enough that they would not keep things from him that he needed to know. Nothing too major anyway. And besides, he'd had half an inkling that there was something going on, and over the years, he'd learnt to appreciate a good surprise.

"Alright, I'm listening." He replied with a small and saw the relief flash through their faces, even Xan, who was notoriously good at concealing his emotions. Clearly, this was something important to all of them.

"You know how I feel about changing time. It should not be done. The Time Wars you've all heard about from me are proof enough of this. But with the abilities all of us share, it got me to thinking. How about we change it in such a way that it doesn't appear to be changed." The Doctor put forth, and Harry frowned.

"I'm not sure I follow you. What are you saying?" He asked and the others suddenly looked eager.

"You know about my skills, Seldarine! You have developed powers similar in nature of the years. Tell me, what can an Enchanter do? What is his most significant skill?" Xan asked, and Harry almost felt like he was a child at his letters for a moment.

"Making others see what he wants them to see." He answered automatically and Xan gave him a brief nod of approval.

"Indeed. And how could that skill be applied? Could he, for example, make an extremely distressed fifteen year old boy and several other people whose emotions were highly charged and thus their perceptions significantly questionable, see a man fall through an archway where there was in fact, no archway?" Xan ventured, and Harry's breath hitched.

Spots were beginning to form in front of his eyes, when he found himself being shaken by one of the others.

"Harry! Wake up!" Shouted a loud voice near his ears.

He snapped out of it and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to get himself together.

"I'm sorry Harry; we shouldn't have just thrown it at you like that. I knew this still weighed heavily on you and..." The Doctor's voice faltered as Harry held up a hand to stop him.

"No, it's my fault. I thought I was over his death, to a point. I mean, I knew I would always miss him, but still. I didn't think I would have such an intense reaction. I guess it means it's still eating at me." He replied, smiling sheepishly.

"It's perfectly natural you know. I think I can speak for all of us when I say, we'd think there was something wrong with you if you didn't. Please don't think we're taking your grief lightly by offering this. We've been planning it for a while, and we really think we can pull it off." Alis explained and Harry sat staring at the floor for a long time.

"OK, let's do it then!" He exclaimed and jumped up to hug them all in gratitude.

* * *

"We've got him! Let's go!" 

"Xan, Harry, wait for my signal before you drop the illusion!"

"Hurry! We can't hold it much longer!"

"Alright, NOW!"

※

Sirius Black awoke with the strange, yet familiar feeling that he had no bloody clue where he was. It was not the first time something like this had happened to him, but that didn't mean that it was any easier to cope with. He frowned and tried to think of the last thing he could remember.

He was in the Ministry of Magic, fighting his cousin. Harry was there, having rushed to the Department of Mysteries with his friends, under the mistaken impression that Voldemort was holding him there as a prisoner.

"Harry!" He called weakly, and coughed when his throat filled with catarrh.

"I'm here, Padfoot." Answered a deep, warm voice. A voice which he recognised as his godson's but one which sounded subtly changed. "How are you feeling?" Harry asked and Sirius tried to pin down what was different. When Harry stepped into view, he got his answer.

"Harry?" He questioned, his eyes scanning the face and frame of the man who stood before him. Because there was no denying the fact that Harry was a man now, fully grown and years older than the last time he had seen him.

"Yes, don't look so surprised. I can see that you're confused. It's been a while Sirius. Before you start badgering me with questions, let me explain. No, that will take too long, let me sum up: during the fight in the Department of Mysteries, you supposedly fell through the Veil of Death. I tried to run after you, but Lupin held me back. We all believed you died. I was very depressed for a long time, and during the summer before my seventh year at Hogwarts, I tried to kill myself. A stranger rescued me and offered me a different kind of life. I've been living that life for ten years. I'm twenty seven, Padfoot." Harry said the last part gently and Sirius frowned again, trying to process what he had been told.

"So, if I died, how am I here?" He demanded, and Harry smiled.

"No, I didn't steal a time turner or anything like that. Recently, the stranger I told you about and some new friends I made, came up with a plan to prevent your death. We used an illusion to make everyone else in the room think you had fallen through the veil, when in fact; we hauled you into our ship." He replied and Sirius started for a moment.

"Ship?!?" He protested.

"Yes, ship. Sirius Black, welcome to the T.A.R.D.I.S.!" Declared an obscenely chirpy voice, which apparently belonged to the tall, grinning man who appeared behind Harry. Harry's godfather sat up on the sofa he had been lying on and looked around properly for the first time. The room he was in was huge, cavernous in fact, and in the centre of it was a large, circular console, which had a tall, glowing, blue column rising up out of it.

"Is this some kind of space ship, or something?" He asked and Harry and the stranger nodded.

"Yep!" Replied Harry and Sirius smiled.

"Cool." He returned and the other two laughed.

※

Shortly, Sirius found himself being introduced to the two resident elves, surprising all present with his knowledge of their species. He explained that such knowledge was probably limited to the older pureblood families; as such volumes of history that described ancient magical races usually resided in the libraries of their family manors, and were guarded most jealously.

He told them that their people once lived within the magical world, apart but still involved, and were known as the High Elves. Many years ago, an alliance between their two peoples was broken by the betrayal of the then Minister of Magic and the elves had all but disappeared. The only race which resembled them were house elves, and no one was very sure where they originated from.

In actual fact, he took the whole situation rather in stride, but was very upset when he learnt all the circumstances behind his godson's attempt to take his own life. He reassured Harry that he didn't blame him _at all_ for leaving the way he did. It meant a lot to Harry to hear that, and even more when Sirius explained that his first loyalty was always to him. He told him that when he had agreed to be his godfather, it was a lot more than words on a paper. He had agreed to be Harry's father if something should ever happen to his birth parents, and had always loved him as if he were his own son.

Though Harry was an adult now, and had come to terms with the fact that he would live his life without feeling the love of a parent, this admission warmed his heart in ways he hadn't even begun to understand, and he had to work very hard to maintain his composure and not blub like an idiot.

Then Sirius decided that it was well past time for him to take his godson and get well and truly rat-arsed. After drinking their near body-weight in some alcoholic beverage with a name they couldn't pronounce, and which had a tendency to smoke like one of Snape's noxious concoctions, both of them broke down and blubbed away in an embarrassing fashion.

Xan and the Doctor were rather sympathetic the next day, though Xan did give them a brief lecture on over imbibing while already in a delicate emotional state, but he shut up rather quickly when his wife remarked rather loudly about dancing elves and the full moon, and mentioned someone called Kivan. After that, Xan bustled off somewhere, muttering something about updating his spell book.

Harry and Sirius had a long, intense talk about Harry's decision to return to his own time. Or near to his own time, anyway.

Xan, Alisrielle and the Doctor had a lot to say on the subject as well, and though the four of them didn't try and talk him out of it, they tried to make him see what might happen and plan for any surprises. They all collectively and individually knew that he wouldn't be able to settle down into any kind of life until he had laid his past to rest.

It was fairly obvious that Harry was noting the lack of someone special in his life. He'd had the odd fling here and there over the years, and although he seemed to have a knack of attracting people, and he was adorably oblivious as to why, they were missing that nebulous something which could forge a connection between two people. So, he had remained largely celibate.

He had questioned Xan and Alis about their relationship and how they met, since he really didn't have any other couple in his life to learn from. Had his parents lived, he would no doubt have a much more grounded attitude to love and partnership, but they didn't, and his Aunt and Uncle were hardly a sterling example of marital bliss.

Early on in their travels with the Doctor, the four of them had managed to hunt down an elven priestess, who was more than happy to help Xan and Alis realise a dream of theirs which had spanned several millennia.

Alis explained that while they had been bonded for a long time, they were not formally married in the eyes of their people. Xan had wanted to, but had believed that they would not both survive the Bhaalspawn Wars which the two of them had been heavily involved in. It was a small quiet wedding, and the five of them had spent a week afterwards celebrating. Xan and Alis had disappeared more than once to be alone, but that was expected, considering their newlywed status.

When Harry had asked about their courtship and bonding, both had told him that it was anything but easy. Given the circumstances and their differences in age, outlook and temperament, it was a trial.

"Why did you stay together then, if it was so hard?" He wanted to know.

"Because. I don't know how to put it into words. Xan was gloomy, paranoid and sometimes looked on me as a child. I can hardly blame him for that though, since I was practically a child at the time and he was past two hundred years old. But he was what I wanted. He knew how dangerous I was, and how much I annoyed him, but he loved me anyway. And I loved him. Don't ever try to rationalise it, because you won't be able to." Alis told him and Harry frowned.

"How will I know?" He posed the question he'd been pondering for some while.

"I do not know. But you will, believe me. And if you are anything like me, you will try and fight this folly that blows away all your careful plans and control, until you realise that nothing you plan for or aspire to could ever be as wonderful as being with the one you love. I am by no means telling you not to dream, not to try and do things to make the world better, not to pursue things that you are interested or try and learn more about life and everything in it. Just promise me you will not deny the one thing that can make all that worthwhile." Xan said and Harry was taken aback at the man's frankness.

Usually he let his wife step forward and speak for the two of them. The other three men on the ship had theorised that it was a throwback from when they first met, and she had been his commander of sorts. But clearly, he did not shirk from speaking out when he thought it mattered, and Harry was touched that the normally private man would share such information with him.

His experiences with the people in his life before he began his journey with the Doctor made him want to shy away from any intimate involvement in the future. If he didn't let people in, then they would have no way of letting him down or abusing his trust. Academically, he understood that that attitude was incredibly unhealthy, and he had resolved to try and learn not to be that way, but it was a thorny problem.

For now, all he could do was try. He decided that the people who had disappointed him so badly in his younger years, could be forgiven to a certain extent, but they would not be graced with such blind trust in the future. If they chose to repent and tried to earn his trust back again, if they truly understood what they had done to him, or admitted that they didn't but wanted to learn, then he would take some tentative steps with them.

He would tell them that he would work with them to end this Dark Lord's so-called reign, and that any personal issues would be resolved afterwards.

And if they didn't like that, then they could go stuff themselves.

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" 

"Can I get back to you on that one?"

"Ha! No. It's now or never."

"I had a feeling you might say that."

"…"

"Well?"

"Yeah. I guess so. How about you lot?"

"Yep."

"Aye, Captain."

"I refuse to lower myself to Sirius' level."

"Hey!"

"I guess I'm ready too. That just leaves you, Harry."

"…"

"Well then."

"Yeah."

"…"

"Open the door then."

"You open it."

"It's _your_ door."

"So? Does every door come with a requirement that only the owner must open it? Does it have some kind of obligatory opening clause? Because I'm sure I didn't sign any contracts when I got it."

"Just open it."

"No, you. If you can't open this door, how are you going to walk through it?"

"Well, I was thinking that if I don't open it, then I won't have to, see?"

"But you do."

"I know. I'm just nervous."

"Understandable."

"Maybe you should just relax a bit."

"Not helping."

"How about a joke?"

"A joke?"

"Yeah, you know. To lighten the mood. Ooh, I know a good one: 'A dire wolf, a kobold and a succubus walk into a tavern. The barkeep says, "Sorry, we only serve kobolds here." And the succubus responds, "Yeah, I know. Can you add some oregano this time?"'

"I knew it was a mistake to let you and Xan go drinking last night."

"Now wait a minute, since when was _that_ my fault?"

_The door opens with a bang._

"Hey! Watch it. You break it you bought it, you know?"

"Impatience isn't one of your better qualities."

"All my qualities are better."

"You might want to rethink that sentence, it doesn't make any sense."

"All my sentences make sense."

"You just keep telling yourself that Harry. One day it might come true."

"I can live in hope I suppose. How long?"

"Approximately one year. If the readings are right, one year, two months, one week and three days."

"So, if I was here, then I'd be how old? Eighteen?"

"About that yeah. Doesn't mater though. Because, although you're here, you're kind of not, too."

"You might want to rethink that sentence."

"Funny. Maybe you should think about a career change."

"Well then. Enough stalling."

Harry, The Doctor, Sirius, Xan and Alisrielle stepped out onto the pavement, the door of the T.A.R.D.I.S. locking behind them and looked at a house that tried to hide between the two beside it.

_Number 12, Grimmauld Place._

* * *

"I wonder if anyone is actually in. We have no idea what is going on with the war, or anything." Harry said, as they approached the front door to the house he wished he never had to see again. If had his way, the whole place would be razed to the ground, along with every disgusting thing in it. Sirius had confessed that he'd considered it more than once. The two of them could have got some sturdy sticks and roasted some marshmallows in the cheery fire. 

"Good point. But it's not like I can pick up the Wizarding Wireless Network in the T.A.R.D.I.S." The Doctor replied, and Harry turned away from his meticulous examination of the grain of the decrepit old door to frown at his friend.

"Can't you?" He asked curiously and the Doctor paused frowning also.

"Now you mention it, I haven't ever tried before. No reason to really. And it's not like they use radio waves like the normal people on this planet." He waved a hand in dismissal of the idea. "Too late now. We'll just have to blunder in there and mess things up a bit. Knowing your luck, they'll be in the middle of one of their chickens coop meetings." He said with relish and Harry laughed softly, despite the nervous anticipation he was feeling inside.

"The Order of the Phoenix, you mean." He clarified and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"That was what I said wasn't it?" He turned slightly to look at Sirius and the two elves in appeal. "You heard me, right?"

"Leave us out of this, Elendil." Replied Alis, crossing her arms and looking much more comfortable in the muggle clothes they both wore than her husband. Xan adjusted the cuffs of his shirt as he had been doing for the last half an hour since he and his wife arrived in the control room. Sirius just smiled.

"It matters not which words either of you used. This cannot be avoided. Thinking about facing one's past is always much worse than the actual act. Continuing to imagine scenarios in your head, instead of confronting the reality, will only drive you mad. I know I do not speak of such things often, young Harry, but you have grown into a fine man, mellonamin, and you know you have our support." Xan declared and Harry smiled.

"Thank you. It means a lot to hear it." He said, nodding to Sirius, not needing to hear any more words. Squaring his shoulders, he opened the door.

* * *

Since they had not been very quiet, their entry woke up the portrait of Sirius' mother. Having already been briefed on the horrible woman's caterwauling, none of the people who were visiting the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black were very startled by her outburst. The sound did begin to grate on their nerves after a very short time however. 

Xan headed towards the woman with a determined look on his face, Sirius and the others not far behind.

"Remind me about the construction of this... painting." He said to Sirius, and Mrs Black stopped her screeching to look at them curiously.

Her son explained again that she had used a permanent sticking charm, and that all attempts to silence her had failed miserably.

"Ah, yes, I remember." He frowned, running his hands just shy of the surface, not actually touching it. "It is very fine work. Despite her uncouth behaviour and ear splitting hollering, your mother must have been a very accomplished mage. The intricacy here is impressive." Xan said, pretending not to notice when Walburga's portrait self straightened and preened a little at his praise. "Madam, I am as, if not more, accomplished as you are, and I have the advantage over you that I am alive and fully capable of unravelling the enchantments you have placed on this canvas. While I would regret to destroy such a work of art, your son is the owner of this house and my friend. If he asks, I will remove you." He said in a firm voice and Walburga started.

"Why I – good sir, who are you?" She said in a confused voice and Xan smiled.

"My name is Xan of Evereska, and as you can see," He lifted his hair to show his pointy ears, "I am not of your kind. I do not claim to understand the reason behind your treatment of your kin, nor do I wish to. To my people, kin are everything. We do not let our... disputes fester. But perhaps that is because we live so much longer than you and your kind. You seem to feel the need to fill up the empty spaces in your lives with your anger, and resent others to choose to live differently. Perhaps you simply lack the time to properly contemplate the consequences of your actions. I do not know. It will remain a mystery I fear, because I have no inclination to investigate further. Now, Madam, will you be a guardian of your family's home and help us to prevent the destruction of your heritage, or will you not?"

Sirius was agape, looking between his mother and Xan. Feeling that this was a private moment, the other three hung back and kept looking down the corridor for any signs of life from the rest of the house.

Walburga looked between the elf before her, and her son.

Truly, her family's association with the Dark Lord had brought them nothing but ruination and shame, and in the years since her son's supposed death, she had had time to think. Her anger was in fact no longer directed towards the last of her children, but to the people who had sent him out to die, to the people who still believed they had the right to invade her home.

"I will. And Sirius, my son." The last of the Blacks turned to face her warily. "I am glad you are alive. I... apologise for the way I treated you when I was living, and how I made your life miserable, even after my death. You may not be aware, but the real Walburga put much of herself in me before she died, and I know and can do a lot more than an ordinary portrait. That is why the house has always resisted you. Forgive me, if you can." She said in the mildest voice Sirius had ever heard from his mother - even when he was a little boy.

"I - I need to think." He said, running a hand through his hair.

"That is fine. Take all the time you need... son." Walburga replied and gave him a small smile. He returned it, hesitantly, and then relaxed when he felt Harry's hand on his shoulder.

"Mrs Black, perhaps you can inform us of what has been happening since the last time I was here?" He asked, and she smiled again, though this time it was a tad more evil.

"But of course. Where shall I begin? Well..."

* * *

The first thing they learnt, was the house at that time was empty. They breathed a collective sigh of relief and followed Walburga's suggestion to relocate to one of the drawing rooms so they could be more comfortable. She assured them that she could move between the pictures and could set herself up in one of the portraits there. 

Kreacher, who was still in residence to Harry and Sirius' mutual shock, served them refreshments without batting an eye, and didn't even glare at them. It leant credence to Mrs Black's claims that she had been purposely making life there difficult for them and that she intended to stop that interference.

The recounting of what she knew of the last year or so, and the time before that during which her son had been purportedly dead and Harry kept out of things, took quite a while and they even had dinner in the drawing room, on their laps.

Apparently, Harry had been declared as missing.

His disappearance, along with his photo album and wand, made the authorities think he had run away. The possibility of him being kidnapped had been investigated, but discarded when none of the Order's or Auror's spies could find any evidence of him in Voldemort's hideaways. Attempts had been made to find him over the last year, and there was still a small force assigned with locating him, but it was much decreased from its initial inception.

The press had taken the story of his disappearance and ran with it.

In the beginning, they had walked the fine line between truth and fabrication. Then, after some time, they decided not simply just to cross that line, but to charge across the border like a rampaging barbarian horde, leaving only corpses and burning homesteads in their wake.

According to Sirius' mother, at first, they were calling for a world wide man hunt, urging every able bodied witch and wizard to get involved, believing him to have been stolen away and in dire distress. Then, as the months went on, the stories began to change. Walburga didn't know all of them, since she only knew what people spoke in the house - Kreacher and the other portraits reporting in directly to her. But it was enough to get the general gist.

While the press had started off being sympathetic and worried for their saviour, they now vilified and despised him. They reported that he had gone off to parts unknown, happy to leave all his beloved friends and family to fight the dangers facing them alone. Never mind that he didn't _have_ any family but the Dursleys, they apparently printed whatever they wanted, and the wizarding world lapped it up like it was the richest cream.

Harry was not at all surprised by this, it was what he expected, after all. Nor was he very dismayed. If the world wanted to place their hopes on one teenaged boy, then they were fools to be shocked when he decided that the future they had planned for him was nothing much to shout about, and skipped town.

What _did_ dismay him, was the news that Dumbledore had begun to train up Neville, and was trying to tout the idea that he had got it wrong all those years ago, and that the Longbottom heir was the _real_ Chosen One. He knew Neville had gained more confidence over the years, but no one deserved that kind of pressure and nobody's shoulders were broad enough, or strong enough to carry that burden without buckling. It was only a matter of time.

They also learned that things had been pretty quiet over the last year. Snape had reported that the Dark Lord was ill, and the Order's other spy - a very unexpected Draco Malfoy, confirmed this story. No one was able to find out why, though Harry and his friends were pretty sure they knew the answer.

Before they would tell Mrs Black however, they swore her and Kreacher to silence.

"The thing is, is that our connection was severed. First by distance and then by design. When it grew weaker, and when I grew stronger, I could separate it from the other pathways of magic going in and out of my core, and bit by bit, I pulled the threads of that pathway and absorbed them back into myself. Riddle had been relying on me to uphold his magical strength, and now that source is gone, he's having to regain his magic the hard way. This would have happened if he had somehow died and come back without having first forged that link when he tried to kill me. And we're pretty sure that if he succeeded in killing me while we were still connected, he would have died too, or been close to it." Harry explained, and it only took the wily Walburga a minute or two to draw the inevitable conclusions.

"Either way, that old bastard would have won. Either he mentored the brave martyr, Harry Potter, who killed the Dark Lord and went down with him, or he stepped in and killed the Dark Lord when the chosen one was too weak to do it himself. Interesting. Have you considered the source of the Dark Lord's malaise, Lord Potter?" She asked and Harry jumped.

"Say what?" He wasn't reacting to the title, his godfather had explained about his heritage to him already. He was however, extremely taken aback by her question.

"Did you not understand me? Did I stutter? I meant, have you considered how he came to be as he is? You cannot surely believe it is limited to the abuse he suffered as a child!" She replied, and he shook his head dubiously.

"Well, I did, I suppose. What else could it be? And by asking that, do you imply that he is redeemable?" Harry shot back incredulously.

"Perhaps before his death, but no, not now. Even before that, maybe not. No, I think something was done, something irrevocable. But I do wonder at its source." Walburga said thoughtfully and Harry shrugged.

"Rather you than me. That's all I can say. So, when do they meet? And do they still meet here? Surely the Ministry would have frozen my assets?" He queried and she smiled evilly again.

"No, Dumbledore was able to persuade them to leave them in the care of your magical guardian - the werewolf. They meet regularly once a fortnight, to hash over the same problems and petty schemes. The werewolf, my niece, the Prince boy and Lord Malfoy are in residence, but they are all at other tasks presently. From what we could tell, none expect to return this evening, possibly not until the wee hours of tomorrow morning." She explained. Sirius and Harry exchanged looks.

"Lord Malfoy?" Sirius asked and the portrait of his mother nodded.

"Yes, Lucius met his end in Azkaban. He took his own life, I believe. Shameful. But not unexpected. I count it as a great strength that you survived for so long, and even escaped, my son. Only a Black could ever manage such a feat!" She declared, with some of her usual zeal glinting in her eyes.

For his part, Sirius wasn't sure whether to beam under her praise or to vomit. He chose neither, and settled for a blank look. Harry chuckled at him, and looked around at the others.

"Well then. Who's up for a game of Exploding Snap?"

* * *

Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy trudged into the Order Headquarters feeling pretty well wrung out. 

The Dark Lord had been in a rare humour this evening, and though he was not feeling any better, he had indulged in some torture of his faithful followers to relieve the boredom. Most of the usual attacks had died down, and he had the bulk of his Death Eaters out searching for information and any leads on Potter. A select few were looking for a way to rejuvenate their lord, Draco and Snape being two of those.

Their portion of the mission was to investigate how potions could help, and despite a couple of useful creations, they were at a loss. Dumbledore had instructed them to not hold anything back, which confused them, but even then they were at a loss as to how to improve Riddle's health. The door closed solidly behind them, and Snape shot an admonishing glance at Malfoy, inclining his head to the curtains covering Mrs Black's portrait.

When no outburst was forthcoming, they counted themselves lucky and headed for the kitchen, not noticing the head which stuck out from the door of the drawing room in their tiredness.

Harry popped back in the room and shook the head which had just been sticking out into the hallway. "Just Snape and Malfoy. Should we wait until the others get back?" He asked and his friends considered it.

"Yes, I think so. We know they're planning on coming here." The Doctor said, and looked at Walburga. "When is the next meeting planned for?" He asked, his usual joviality missing for the moment.

"Tomorrow, four o'clock in the afternoon, in fact. The old goat knew that his pet Death Eaters would be attending a meeting tonight, and he wants them to report in then." She told him.

"So, granting that Lupin and Tonks arrive in the next hour or so, we'll have about fourteen or fifteen hours to question them before anyone else gets here." Harry said, thinking.

"You might want to question them for fourteen or fifteen hours, but the rest of us plan on getting some sleep, kiddo." Sirius said in a reproachful voice, but the teasing light in his eyes belied any reprimand he might offer.

"True, true. Just wanting to make sure, you know." Harry replied and his godfather smiled.

"I know. I hope they hurry up though. I'm starting to get hungry again." He said, and then jumped as Kreacher popped in next to him, presenting him with a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. "Don't mind if I do. What an efficient elf you are Kreacher!" He declared and dug in enthusiastically. Kreacher just snorted, and turned a questioning glance at the others. They declined, but allowed him to refresh their drinks.

The sound of the door closing again, this time a little softer than before, got everyone's attention. The voices in the hallway which had accompanied the noise of the closing door, got closer.

"Look, I just think that it's time we -"

"Harry?!?"

※

"Lupin, Tonks. It's been a while." Harry said, standing and walking towards them. He stopped when he was about a metre away. He noticed the exact moment when their eyes fell on his godfather.

"S-Sirius?" Remus protested weakly, and stumbled a little.

Tonks held him up, and looked confused when Harry made no motions to assist his father's friend. She too was alternating incredulous glances between Harry and the last Black. He watched as her keen Auror instincts took in the change of his appearance and the confident set of his shoulders.

"How - How is any of this possible?" Tonks demanded, and Harry laughed, a rich warm laugh that surprised her even more. Harry exchanged knowing glances with the other people in the room whom she didn't recognise.

"Spend a lot of time with my friends here, and you'll begin to redefine what you think is possible and impossible. Suffice it to say, we are all really here. As are you here, in _my _house." He said, the last part in a firm voice. Sirius cleared his throat.

"Technically, it's _my _house. But I suppose since I've been declared dead and all, it's yours until I reclaim it." He waved a had as if dismissing an unimportant point. Harry laughed again.

"Why, how very magnanimous of you, godfather mine." He said, sitting back down again and watching the two uncomfortable people in the doorway.

For their part, Lupin and Tonks were way beyond confusion.

Neither could believe that Sirius was here, alive, and the same went for Harry. Though Remus had not given up hope that Harry would be found, he had privately begun grieving for the boy he thought he knew. Because there was no denying that when Harry was located, he would be changed. He wouldn't be the innocent, trusting boy he once was.

But to be confronted by this man who was nothing like the Harry he had last seen, and coupled with that, the sight of his oldest friend whom he had thought lost to him, it was just too much.

"Where have you been?" Remus asked weakly, and Harry smirked.

"Oh, around, you know? Here and there." He replied and suddenly Remus saw red.

"What kind of an answer is that! We've all been worried _sick_! How _dare_ you just waltz in here and act like nothing has happened!" He declared and Harry jumped to his feet.

"Oh, I dare, _Lupin_! I dare! None of you wanted to listen when it could have made a difference! I was locked away in this god-awful house," He ignored Walburga's protest at the description of her home, "For my own _good_. Ha! What a crock of shit! I was falling apart, I was in pain, and none of you knew, or if you did, you didn't bloody care. Didn't spare a single minute for me, to hear what I had to say. Fuck! I even went to Snape. But you all said the same thing, '_Not now Harry_'" He said the latter in a mocking voice, not even noticing that he began to glow with rage.

Alis looked like she wanted to intervene, as did Sirius, but the Doctor and Xan stopped them, understanding what this was really about, and its necessity.

"You just don't get it Lupin! You believed and probably still believe that Dumbledore was right to march into my relative's home and stun me, just to bring me here. Yeah, you heard me, don't even try to deny it! Well, I had enough. I tried to take the only way of this hell you built for me the only way I knew how." Harry finished deflated and sank back to his chair, not looking at the two in the doorway.

"What did you do, Harry?" Tonks asked softly, and Harry flinched, shooting her an furious glare, before looking away. He gave the Doctor a nearly imperceptible nod.

"He tried to kill himself." The Time Lord said, and carried on over the shocked gasps of the werewolf and the Auror. "But I found him, and returned him to health. We spoke, and I asked him to travel with me. Considering I was offering his freedom from you... _people_, he readily accepted." He said, giving Harry a fond smile, which was returned fully.

"But how did you find him? And how did you get into the house?" Tonks protested and the Doctor smile again, tapping his nose. She pressed, but he wouldn't say any more. Harry's expression as he looked past Tonks and Lupin went from stony to smirking in a heartbeat.

"Why, Professor! I bet you can't wait to tell me how happy you are to see me." He declared with relish.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter, Baldur's Gate and associated mods, Doctor Who or anything else you recognise.**

**A/N: Things are getting worse for me health wise. But since I was at home today and felt inspired, I rattled this one out in one sitting. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last time.**

* * *

Chapter Five

* * *

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."

**Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)**

* * *

"Potter." Snape replied, his voice resigned rather than angry. Draco was looking between his mentor and the other people in the room with shock. 

His eyes took in the appearance of his boyhood rival, noting the changes in his face and body since the last time he had seen him. Harry Potter was… old. Not ancient or anything, but he had grown up. Somehow, he'd managed to age himself to look about a decade older.

Potions would have been able to achieve that for him, but why? Why would he feel the need to age himself? It didn't make sense. His mind ran over the possibility that he had actually been gone for ten years and managed to return to his own time when only a year had passed. But he knew of no spell or potion that could achieve that. Or even Time Turners.

"Do come in and sit down if you can find a chair. Standing in the doorway gaping like landed fish isn't at all attractive you know." Harry said, the smirk still present. Clearly he was enjoying this immensely. Draco could hardly blame him for that. Were their positions reversed, he would probably be behaving the same way.

The Order members did as they were bid, and sat down, albeit rather stiffly. They couldn't help flicking curious glances at the Doctor and the two elves, and received enigmatic smiles in return, which only served to confuse them further.

"Where have you been, Potter?" Snape asked calmly. Harry smiled and flicked a glance at the werewolf and the Auror.

"Oh, around. I had some living to do, and I found the atmosphere in this house rather stifling. No offence, Walburga." He replied, nodding to the portrait currently containing Mrs Black. She smiled, but didn't say anything, sending the Order members in the room into another bout of shock.

"I see. May I assume this has something to do with the last conversation we had, Potter?" Snape asked perceptively, and Harry started slightly.

"Something like that, yeah. Though I would hardly call it a conversation, Professor. It was more of a dismissal. But you're right. As I was just explaining to Lupin and Tonks here, when I was last in this house I asked for help. From everyone. I think perhaps you more than anyone can understand how difficult it was for me to reach out. You have seen firsthand what my childhood was like when you leeched out my memories in those Occlumency lessons. I thought asking for help would make me weak. But when I had no other course open to me, I did. And I was rebuffed. By _everyone_. So, I decided I wanted out. Luckily for me, the Doctor here found me and gave me an alternative to taking my own life. I left with him, and have been living _my_ life _my own way_ ever since." Harry explained, and waited for the reaction of the Professor and the others.

Tonks and Lupin knew a little of this already from what Harry had told them moments ago. However, he didn't think it had sunk in how much they had let him down. He wasn't sure they'd ever really be able to understand how betrayed he felt.

Time and distance had allowed the bitterness to fade somewhat. It wasn't completely gone though, and he was enjoying making them feel uncomfortable. He wanted them to feel bad, to feel guilty. He knew he couldn't let it go too far. Too much, and he might end up like Riddle, and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

A glance at his friends showed that they were angry on is behalf, but they were also worried for him. Instead of being annoyed that they wanted to caution or censure him on his behaviour, he was grateful they cared enough to be concerned. At least they were doing it for the right reasons.

They had only his happiness at heart, while he doubted most of the Order could claim the same thing. They _did_ have the threat of the Dark Lord hanging over their heads of course, and that wasn't something to be taken lightly. Added to that, they had been indoctrinated by a very wily, very clever old man to believe Harry was their only hope. Even the best of people might get a bit selfish under those conditions.

It partially excused them for going along with the plan to lock him in Grimmauld Place, but it shed no light on why they couldn't spare some time for him when he had needed them. He honestly could not fathom a reason why it had been so hard for them to spare him even five minutes. Surely they could tell that he had needed help?

"How long have you been gone?" Asked Snape quietly and the other Order members started in surprise.

"What do you mean? It's only been a year!" Lupin protested and Snape shot him a withering glare.

"Lupin, use you eyes and your ears for a change! _That_ Harry Potter is _not_ eighteen years old. I would put him closer to thirty." The others gasped and looked between the potions master and his former student incredulously. Xan, Sirius, Alisrielle and the Doctor kept quiet and watched. "So, Potter, how old are you?" Snape demanded, crossing his arms and waiting for an answer. Harry shot him a smirk that looked remarkably like one of his own.

"I don't know if I should be offended that you think I could be as old as thirty. But you are right, I am not eighteen. Ah, I remember being eighteen and all the confusion that went along with it. Thinking you are an adult and are ready to face the real world, when really, you are still a child. I have a hard time believing I am now an adult, sometimes. To answer your question though, I am twenty seven. We worked out that my birthday will be about a month after Christmas in this time. Approximately anyway. I was thinking that maybe we could celebrate it on New Years Day. What do you reckon, guys?" He said, turning to his friends.

The four of them looked between themselves for a moment, before Xan answered.

"Mellonamin, I think it a fine idea. But perhaps we should wait and discuss it at a more opportune moment. We still have business to transact with these… wizards." The pause before the last word made it clear what Xan thought of them, and the Order members didn't look very impressed with his assessment of them. They didn't protest however, because they were wary of beginning and argument with someone Harry obviously counted as a friend.

"Fair point, my friend. Very well. Since you are four of the less rash members of Dumbledore's Order, I will make plain my intentions with you. You will then tell me not only what you think of them, but how the others will react so that we can efficiently prepare ourselves. Do not try to leave, do not try to contact anyone, as you will find yourselves unable to until I decide to let you. Make no mistake, you are under my power for the foreseeable future. Do I make myself clear?" Harry told them, his voice as hard as flint.

Snape and Draco were the first to accept the situation, being rather more pragmatic than the other two. For his part, Lupin was rather offended, but once glance from Sirius kept him silent. Tonks, however, was less than pleased.

"Harry, you can't go threatening and Auror like that. I could have you up on charges!" She declared and was really unhappy when Harry started laughing.

"As could I, Auror Tonks. Tell me, do your superiors know you are a member of a vigilante group run by Albus Dumbledore? I can't imagine Scrimgeour would be very impressed, can you?" He answered her threat, raising her one in the process. She abated.

"Fine. Speak then." She replied with a huff.

"I think you will find that we will deal well together. My intentions are simple: destroy the man known as Lord Voldemort, and then leave. I would like to say forever, but though I find myself uninterested in what the wizarding world has to offer at present, I can't say I will always feel that way. I have no intention of setting myself up as a replacement Dark Lord, or in running the wizarding world after he has gone. As far as I'm concerned, you can have it. Now, will you help me, or will you not?" He asked, looking at each of them in turn.

"Potter, I find myself bemused by your resolution. One might think you would prefer to let us handle him on our own, given the way you have been treated in the past." Snape ventured tentatively. Well, it was almost tentative, if you squinted.

"That was my first impulse, I admit. But it has been a long time since I saw any of you. And that time has helped me rein in my youthful brashness. I have seen things, so many things that are so far out of your safe, small world that you couldn't possibly imagine them." Harry said, a look of wonder in his eyes that was almost infectious.

"Explain." Demanded Snape.

"No. Suffice it to say, I have been to the stars, Professor. And in comparison to them, Voldemort is like a bug. A bug that needs to be squashed so I can get on with the rest of my life." Harry told him, and Snape snorted derisively.

Inwardly, he was feeling rather envious. It seemed Potter had found a way to overcome his past and in doing so, had discovered a world he actually wanted to explore. That was no mean feat. After everything that had happened to him, Severus found he was tired of life, and was only hanging on to finish the task he had started when he had gone to Dumbledore, all those years ago.

"Potter – Harry – I think you will find that most of the Order and the Ministry even will be with you on your first aim, but as for the second, they will be very reluctant to let you leave. Despite everything that has been written and said about you in the last year, if you do defeat the Dark Lord, you will be their darling once again. Many will not let you rest until you are settled down with the right witch and begin popping off a bunch of sprogs." Draco said, a frown marring his perfect features.

"Oh, I realise that. But where I'm going, they won't be able to follow me." Harry replied with confidence.

The Doctor had told him more than once that Harry was welcome to stay with him for as long as he wanted. Harry understood that the Doctor got very lonely on his travels, and since they got on so well together, he was delighted to have his company. And the T.A.R.D.I.S. was large enough for either of them to get away from the other when they wanted some space, or time alone.

Added to that, Harry was a wizard, a very powerful one. Xan and Alis had done some research, and while he wouldn't live as long as the Doctor, he would have a lifespan to match theirs. The Doctor found an immense amount of comfort in knowing his new companion would be around for a long, long time.

"How can you be so sure? Draco is right, they really, _really_ won't want to let you go." Lupin said, a note of urgency in his voice.

Harry found it amusing and saddening at the same time. However badly he might have behaved in the past, clearly the werewolf still cared about him, and was worried for his future. It was a shame they had never built up a proper friendship. He wasn't sure if it was too late or not, just that he was in no way willing to do anything about it at this moment in time.

"I am sure, and that is all you need to know. I didn't come here to confess all my secrets. Now, I would make you swear oaths not to reveal my plans to leave to anyone, but it is likely the old goat would guess anyway. Instead, I ask that you keep your ears open for plans to subdue me, and generally plant the idea that once Voldemort is gone, I will most likely capitulate and rush into the arms of my friends to reconcile with them. Dumbledore, in his infinite wisdom, will lap it up I am sure. As will others. I hope you realise the trust I am extending to you at this point, and I hope you will not abuse it." He said seriously, the 'again' he didn't say ringing in their ears.

For their part, the Order members that had walked into the Headquarters that evening, so unprepared for this meeting, were impressed. If they weren't sitting down already, they would have felt the need to take a seat.

Any doubts they had that Harry had grown up had now vanished. Where he might have in the past, ranted and raged at them, he was now making deals with them. True, he had lost his temper at Lupin, but he had been provoked. And Lupin had to admit he had lost it first.

For them, this was a win-win situation. They would see the end of the Dark Lord, and Harry would not wreak his somewhat justified revenge on them. He would simply leave.

"You should know then, Potter, that the Dark Lord is gravely ill. While his weakened state is useful for us, he has been considering some incredibly dangerous means to regain his former strength." Snape reported and Harry nodded.

"I know. He is sick because I severed our connection." Harry lifted his hair to show the absence of the famous scar. If one looked very carefully, there was a thin white line to show there had been a wound there in the past, but it wasn't at all obvious.

"While I was away, the connection grew weaker to the point where I could cut if off completely, and absorb the magic back into myself. Between us," He indicated his group of friends, "We discovered that he had been leeching magic from me to sustain himself since his return to corporeal form. Now that my power is gone from him, he is having to revitalise himself in the normal way. It is as if he has woken from an incredibly long coma, or something of that kind." He told them, and the two Death Eater spies looked very interested.

"Fascinating. And congratulations to you for accomplishing such a task. It would be best, then, if the Dark Lord was contained and taken care of before he can enact some of his more dangerous plans." Snape said, and the others agreed.

"Harry, everyone, it is getting very late. Perhaps we should retire? I don't know about you, but I am rather tired. And your two friends there in the black robes look exhausted. In fact, you seem to have been cursed in some way. Do you need healing?" Alis, who had been silent for most of the discussion along with her husband, Sirius and the Doctor, raised a brow at Snape and Draco.

"Ah, Madame, that is very kind of your to offer, but –" Whatever Snape had been about to say was cut off when Draco interrupted him.

"I feel pretty rotten actually, yeah. Are you a healer then?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Sort of. My skills should be sufficient for this purpose however. But you may find my magic rather foreign." Alis said and Draco indicated for her to say more. The others were listening with avid interest, and a little confusion. Harry and his friends just seemed a bit amused.

"Foreign? Why?" The blond queried, with no hostility.

"Because, young Lord Malfoy, I am an elf." She told him, moving her hair aside to show her pointy ears in the same way her husband had done for Walburga. Draco's brows shot up almost to his hairline, as did Snape's. Lupin and Tonks gasped audibly.

For his part, Draco turned to face Harry with a grin.

"You do know how to pick 'em, don't you Potter?" He declared with a laugh, and Harry chuckled.

"I couldn't ask for better friends." He replied honestly, and Sirius began making gagging noises. Harry threw a cushion at him. "Oh, shut up you." He scoffed, and then exclaimed when Sirius shifted into Padfoot and jumped onto his lap to lick his face. "Yeuch!" Harry protested, pushing the dog off him.

Remus watched this by-play with sad eyes. It seemed no matter what he did in life, he always ending up making a mess of things. Here were the two people he should have felt closest to, and yet there seemed to be a great yawning chasm between them. He knew he shouldn't be indulging in a pity party just then, but he was feeling rather down in the dumps.

Alis was standing in front of Draco now, and had placed her hands on either side of his head. She was murmuring words, and everyone in the room could feel a gathering energy. She released her hands sharply, and a glow seemed to wash over Draco's body, burning brightly before winking out. When the light had faded, Draco was looking better than he had in weeks. Aches that he had become accustomed to were gone and he was standing straighter.

"Wow. That was… thanks. I appreciate it." He said earnestly, before sitting back down, breathing easier than he had in a long time. He held out his hand, palm facing down, and was delighted to see the minute shakes he had been telling himself weren't there, really were not there at all now.

Alis had turned to face Snape and was holding her hand out impatiently.

"Do not be stubborn for idiotic reasons, Professor." Harry said sternly, and the potions master bristled. He did realise he was being foolish however, so he stood up to receive the same treatment as Draco.

When it was finished, he decided to wait until he was in the privacy of his bedchamber before examining himself for signs of the nerve damage which had plagued him since the Dark Lord's return. For most people such damage was upsetting, for him it could cost him his livelihood.

"Mr Lupin. I am not unaware of your predicament, or the illness you suffer from. I am afraid I cannot offer you a miracle cure, but I can help you to better control your affliction. Many on my world become werewolves willingly, and because they are closer to nature, it does not affect them the way it does you. It will take time, but I can teach you how to shift voluntarily and how to lessen the damage done to your body, if you will let me." Alis said and Remus nodded slowly.

"Yes, of course. I – I did hope, but… yes, thank you, that is very kind of you." He replied, and she shook his hand to seal the agreement. For some reason, the wolf inside him calmed at the touch of the elf.

They all rose to head for bed, and when Xan gave Remus a reassuring pat on the back, the same thing happened. Perhaps it was because they were elves, and the wolf recognised them as being in concert with nature and thus, unthreatening. It was something to explore in any case.

* * *

They met again over breakfast, and the four Order members were surprised at the way Kreacher was behaving. They were also surprised at the state of the house. Where it was vaguely clean but with an edge of griminess before, now it practically sparkled. 

Over a nicely cooked, hearty meal, Harry explained about the agreement they had come to with Walburga and how she had decided to help rather than hinder them, as she had been doing before.

When breakfast was done with, they regrouped in the room set aside for Order of the Phoenix meetings. Harry, Alis, Xan and the Doctor wanted to check it over for listening charms and other hidden devices. Snape had shocked them all by offering his assistance. Sirius decided to take the opportunity to sit down and have a discussion with his cousins and Remus.

While the other five were bustling around the room, the four of them sat down at the table for some plain talking.

"Listen, Moony, Harry may have had time to think things over and can afford to be generous, but for me it's only been a few months. What happened to you, Moony? Why did you neglect him?" Sirius demanded and Lupin flinched.

"I don't know Padfoot. It just felt like there was always something more important I needed to look into. A mission or research that Albus had asked me to take care of. He assured me Harry was being looked after properly." He replied, knowing himself it was a weak answer.

"That won't wash, Moony! What else could be more important than Harry? He was your de-facto godson after you thought I died! You promised me you would look after him if anything happened to me! What the bloody hell did you think you were doing? If you thought I would be alright with someone else having the care of him, don't you think I would have asked them instead? But I didn't, did I? I asked you. And you promised!" Sirius was almost shouting by this point, and it was enough to draw the attention of the group who were scouting out the room.

Harry glanced over at Sirius his eyebrows raised, as if asking if there was a problem he needed help with. Sirius shook his head. Harry shrugged and turned back to what he was doing, drawing the other three with him, and indicated to Sirius he should cast a silencing charm. Sirius shook his head again and Harry rolled his eyes.

"How he expects us to get anything done with all that ruckus is beyond me." Snape murmured, and Harry laughed.

By this point, Remus had his head in his hands and was on the verge of tears.

"I don't know what went wrong, Padfoot. I thought… I thought Harry would be better off without me. What do I have to offer him? I've made complete mess of my own life! In what way am I suitable guardian for someone as special as Harry? Please tell me if you know, because I just don't see it! He deserves someone who will be able to help him, someone who can support him and give him good advice. Someone who he can rely on. _Not_ some bloody monster who tried to eat him when he was only a child!" Remus roared the last part, humiliation and shame evident in his tone and his expression.

The room was silent.

Remus jumped at the feel of a warm had on his shoulder, and he almost tried to hide his face when he saw who it was.

"I don't blame you for that, Remus. Yes, you should have remembered to take your potion that evening. But if you recall, you'd just had a huge shock and could hardly have been thinking clearly. It's very easy for us who have not experienced the situation ourselves to say, 'Yes, well, he should have taken his Wolfsbane, it's all his fault', when we have no idea what it's like to be you. You made a mistake. You have made a lot of mistakes, over the years. All of us have. Yes, a lot of your mistakes have had a detrimental effect on me, but it's not the end of the world." Harry said mildly.

Clearly, Remus was in much worse a state than he had originally thought. One look at Sirius told him he'd had no idea how bad it was either. It had never occurred to Harry that Remus still felt bad about what had nearly happened at the end of his third year. Last night he had decided not to try and mend his relationship with the werewolf, but now it seemed like a reconciliation was necessary, before Remus did any permanent damage to himself.

He looked at his godfather again, a silent communication going on between the two of them. After a long moment, Sirius nodded. Harry turned Remus' chair around, and crouched down in front of him. He put his hand under the werewolf's chin and gently pushed, raising his head so he could look in his eyes.

If he had harboured any doubts about the sincerity of the remorse Moony was showing, they all fell away now. Remus was hurting, badly, and Harry felt no need for further recriminations.

"You're not a monster, Remus. Moony is part of you, and there's no denying that. Honeyed words and good intentions won't cover it up, nor will it erase the past. But there is always a chance to move forward. I am an adult now, and I don't need a new guardian. However, I can never have too many friends. So let's get to know each other, hmm? What do you say?" Remus looked into Harry's eyes, scarcely believing this wise, gentle soul was the boy he once knew.

Harry hadn't spoken of forgiveness, but it was there, in his eyes. And that was all Remus needed to know. He reached out to hug him, feeling like he could truly relax for the first time in years.

Yes he had been foolish to separate himself from Harry over the years. He had been incredibly selfish. But Harry understood, and had granted him absolution. He glanced at Sirius and saw the warning he had been expecting in his friend's expression. This was his last chance, as far as his fellow Marauder was concerned. The message was clear: fuck this up and you're on your own.

That was fine, as far as he was concerned. That, he could live with.

* * *

It was getting on to about two o'clock, and they were all getting nervous about the impending Order meeting. 

"I don't see that there will be much of a problem with the majority of members. Most will be relieved that you have returned and are willing to take up the fight with the Dark Lord. It's the ones who claim friendship or closeness with you that worry me." Draco said, and Harry agreed.

"I know what you mean. People like Molly Weasley, Hermione and Ron – those sort of people who believe they have a say in how I live my life, well. They will most likely be angry that I let everyone worry while I was off gallivanting about and doing who knows what." He said with a wry grin.

"Indeed. Because of that ridiculous prophecy, many act as if your life belongs to the people and not to you. They may feel you have betrayed them in some way with your departure. I agree with Draco, however. Much of that will be assuaged by your return and willingness to participate in our struggle." Snape added his piece.

"Harry, I thought I understood what you were about when you tried to do what you did. Just being here, however, brings it home and makes me understand more than I would wish to. I can see why you felt the need to lay this part of your past to rest before moving on." The Doctor said, and Harry smiled at him in gratitude.

He often felt he could never be sufficiently grateful to the Doctor for what he had done for him. When he had told him he wanted to show him that there was more, Harry had not really been able to believe him or even conceive of the notion. Now, he could fully grasp what an incredible gift it was, and he was more than eager to get this loose end tied up so they could be off again.

"My friend, you have told me many a time there is not need to thank you for what you have done for me. You know I disagree. So, instead, how about you let me buy you some of that pistachio ice cream you pretend you don't love?" He offered and the Doctor laughed.

"Sure thing. It's just, you know, an alien eating green ice cream – it's just too cliché!" He said and Harry laughed too.

"Ah,_alien_?!" Protested Tonks, and the two men stopped laughing. The other wizards were looking fixedly at the Doctor. The Time Lord just shrugged.

"Woops?" He ventured and Harry sighed.

"Xan?" Harry said shortly and the elf nodded.

A few gestures and a swirl of lights later, and the wizards in the room blinked, none the wiser that the last minute or so had been wiped from their memories. Harry had learnt the spells, but he wasn't nearly as talented as Xan. Knowing that they had two accomplished Occlumens in the room – Snape and Malfoy – the memory spell needed an expert touch.

So, now they believed that Snape had just asked Harry if they should work out a brief plan on attacking Voldemort, to distract the Order members from the issue of his disappearance.

"I think you're right, Snape. While it would not stop them from raising the issue, it would impress on them the seriousness of the situation. I could always offer to make myself available for discussion afterwards. Just remember to have a bottle of Old Ogden's standing by, eh?" He said with a laugh and Snape nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a half smile.

"Let's get cracking then." Said Sirius.

※

An hour or so later, and they had a rudimentary plan.

They would get into the Dark Lord's hideout, and kidnap him. The Doctor could get them past the wards, though they didn't tell the others exactly how, and Xan, aided by his wife, could keep him subdued.

The rest of the wizards would round up the Death Eaters, and either eliminate them or take them in for questioning. Just what Harry intended to do with Voldemort once he had him in custody, was something of a sticky point.

"Logic suggests that in order to fulfil the prophecy, you will have to kill him." Snape said simply, and Harry scowled.

"I know. And I also know that there are many reasons why some might think it justified. But I don't want to be a killer." He replied. Tonks and Draco looked like they wanted to argue the point, but the others made them back down.

"We don't have to decide now. We have plenty of time to come up with a solution." Said Sirius, rather diplomatically. Harry flicked him surprised glance, and Sirius stuck his nose up in the air a little.

"Right, well. Let's have a snack before the hoards descend." Suggested Draco, wanting to keep the peace. The rest agreed, and they all filed out towards the kitchen.

* * *

Somewhat predictably, the Weasleys and Hermione were the first to arrive. They trundled down the stairs en masse, making rather a lot of noise, and Walburga, who was in one of the canvasses in the kitchen, rolled her eyes. 

"Looks like they've been decorating or something. Merlin knows where they found the time, and –"

As it had been with Remus and Tonks, the people on the stairs recognised Harry almost immediately.

"Harry!"

"Where have you been?"

"What's going on?"

"Did someone say Harry!?!"

"Fred, that's my foot!"

"I'm not Fred, I'm George!"

"Just move out the way!"

He couldn't help himself, Harry burst out laughing. Loud, rumbling laughs, the kind of which had not been heard in that house for a long time. When he had regained control of himself, he was met with a sea of confused faces topped with flaming red hair. There was one head of bushy, brown locks at the back somewhere. They were all gaping at him.

"How undignified." Said Draco in and aside to Snape, who snorted derisively in reply.

"Harry, dear. It's so good to see you! Where have you _been _young man! We were all so _worried_ about you." Molly said, and Harry fought back his instinctive reaction.

As much as he wanted to let loose on them, the way he had with Remus, he could see now how counterproductive that would be. For his own ends, he needed them to trust him. That way, when he left again, they wouldn't be expecting it and he would find little resistance.

"I've been away for a while, Mrs Weasley. I felt trapped in this house and was sinking into depression. I did try to speak with you about it, you may recall. But you said you were too busy. So, when no one was able to help me, I decided I had to help myself. I would be no use in this war if I couldn't summon the energy to even lift my wand. I had to go, only to find myself again. I apologise if I worried you, but it was necessary." He explained and braced for impact.

"I – I see." Molly said, rather taken aback.

Over the long months that searches were conducted for Harry, and no trace of him was found, she had had to accept that he had left of his own accord and didn't want anyone to find him. It had disappointed her, and in some ways, she had almost preferred that they couldn't locate him because he was dead, killed by the other side. She was ashamed with herself for thinking it, but it had been an easier pill to swallow than the idea that he had willingly abandoned them.

Now here, he was, hale and whole, and he was admitting that he had left under his own steam. She really didn't know what to make of it. As for his accusation that he had gone to her for help and been rebuffed, well, she couldn't deny it. She sat down heavily at the table. What a mess things were all of a sudden.

Rather than wallow in her self pity, she took the chance to study Harry. Like Snape and Draco, she could instantly tell he was a lot older than the last time she had seen him. Clearly, something magical was involved as he now looked about the same age as Bill. What had happened to him?

"Harry? Why didn't you come to us?" Asked Hermione in a small voice, Ron nodding beside her. Their friend looked at them and frowned.

"I did. But you didn't hear me. You were too wrapped up in each other. I'm not saying you should have denied the feeling between you, but you seemed to turn to each other with the exclusion of everything and everyone else. I know you were young, and still are. But I thought you had more common sense than that, Hermione. We are in the middle of a war, and a bloody one at that." He said and she took a step back as if slapped.

Hermione had never expected to be lectured on common sense by Harry. Then, when she looked at him, she noticed the same things as Molly.

"Harry, how old are you?" She asked, rather directly.

"How many times am I going to hear that question this evening, I wonder?" He said, looking at Sirius.

"At least seven thousand eight hundred and fifty two." He replied with aplomb.

All eyes turned to the last scion of the Noble and Ancient House of Black.

"SIRIUS!?!" They all declared, almost simultaneously.

"It's nice to be wanted." He said to Remus, nudging him with his shoulder. Remus laughed and nudged him back, feeling greatly reassured by the easy camaraderie.

"But – we thought…" And the protests began.

"But, the Department of Mysteries –"

"We saw – Harry led you there and…" Hermione's voice trailed off as she looked into the furious eyes of her best friend. She seemed to realise instantaneously that she had gone too far. He was up and out of his chair in seconds.

"Harry led you there and got you killed, was that what you were about to say Hermione? Please don't hold back on my account. Harry should have known better than to be taken in by Voldemort," He paused for flinches, "And he got his godfather killed!" He would have said more, but Alis stepped forwards and placed a hand on his arm. Xan was there too, having taken possession of his other arm, and they guided him back to his chair.

Alis spoke softly, but in the deafening silence of the room, everyone heard what she had to say.

"My dearest friend, I have told you more than once, that in a position like yours, others will not allow you the latitude they grant themselves. The excuses they use to pardon their own actions, will be forever beyond you, in their eyes. It is not an easy position to be in, I know. They will expect you to solve all their problems, best all their foes, and hold you up to a standard which is impossible to live up to." She delivered all this in a voice which spoke of first hand experience.

Others in the room, felt the first stirrings of shame.

"And they will always be watching, and waiting. Waiting for you to make a mistake which they will condemn you for. You know this. You also know that your friends, and your family," She indicated herself, her husband, the Doctor and Sirius, "Will never expect such things from you. So, do not be angry with this child. She does not understand what she speaks of." She finished by pressing a gentle kiss to his brow and smoothing out his untameable hair.

He hugged her, and then the man next to her, and then the other man the Weasleys and Hermione didn't recognise. Sirius have him a long hug and pulled him off the ground to spin him around a little.

"I keep forgetting you're not a little boy anymore Harry. Glad you managed to get some meat on those bones!" He said, putting down a protesting Harry, who claimed he was getting dizzy. Those that really knew him saw the delight in his eyes at Sirius' playfulness.

Hermione was alternating between being highly offended at the strange woman calling her a child, and remorse for what she had implied to Harry. She, sadly, being still a child at heart, decided to lash out rather than accept the criticism and learn from it.

"And just who are you to claim to be family to Harry? We've known him a lot longer than you!" She shouted, crossing her arms and glaring at the woman.

Alis looked at Xan, and shrugged.

"N'Tel'Quess." They said together, and fell silent.

This cryptic comment did nothing to dispel Hermione's anger and she hissed at them in annoyance. Snape rolled his eyes and decided to step in at this point.

"While it is slightly entertaining to watch Miss Granger behave like a spoiled child, that is not why we are gathered her. So, I suggest we make our preparations for the meeting which is due to start in a few minutes and leave all explanations to that time." He said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Nearly everyone who had been standing and staring snapped to rather quickly. Professor Snape had taught most of them as children, and the other adults present saw no reason to invite the sharp side of his tongue.

Ron, who had been uncharacteristically silent during his mother and girlfriend's exchange with his once best friend, took a hesitant step towards Harry. The other man was facing away from him currently, reading that day's copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Sirius noticed his advance however, and tapped Harry on the arm. He gestured towards Ron and Harry looked over his shoulder with a guarded expression.

"Ron." He said quietly.

"H-Harry. I – I'm sorry, for you know, not being there. I – ," He paused and ran a hand through his hair in an agitated fashion. "Look, mate. I've done wrong by you. I see that. And it's not the first time either. I hope – well. Never mind. I'm glad you're alright. And I'm glad you're back." He said the last part in a rush, clearly uncomfortable in the situation.

Harry had grown up and left him behind. It was his own fault, and he would understand if his best mate wanted nothing to do with him now.

"Listen, Ron. For a long time I wanted to be angry at you, to hate you. But we were children then, so I can sort of understand. But see, it will never be like it was. Too much has happened since then. Even so, apology accepted." He said, with a rueful grin, and held his hand out.

Ron shook it with a relieved smile, and went off when his Mum called him to help her with something.

"That was a noble thing you just did, Harry." Said the Doctor.

* * *

Whatever the Order of the Phoenix members had been expecting for the meeting that afternoon, the sight of Harry Potter sitting calmly at the table, Sirius Black and three other unknown people at his side, wasn't it. 

Ginny, Ron and Hermione were absent. Harry's former best friends had not yet been inducted, having only just finished school and Ginny was at Hogwarts taking her final year.

Their reactions and exclamations were very similar to the ones he had gone through with Remus and the Weasleys earlier. He was actually beginning to find the whole thing rather tedious. Luckily, or not, Dumbledore called them to order rather quickly.

"Please, be quiet everyone and let us hear what Mr Potter has to say for himself." The shouting died down to the occasional mutter. "Well, Harry, where have you been? And why did you not contact anyone, if only to let us know you were safe? A lot of people have spent a great deal of their time and resources looking for you." He said.

"So we're going straight to the guilt trip without dancing around the point are we? Headmaster, are you losing your touch?" Harry said, his impudence gaining him more than one fierce glare.

"Boy, you should respect your betters!" Shouted one member, and others joined in with their agreement.

"Why? And who says that any of you are better than me? And don't call me boy! I am twenty seven years old, and am clearly more mature than you." He replied, exercising more restraint than some thought him capable of.

"Harry, my boy, that is just not possible. Perhaps you should allow one of us to check you for a confundus charm?" Dumbledore suggested.

Moody didn't wait for Harry's agreement, and shot of a spell almost before the old man had finished speaking. He had no time for any of the nonsense the lad was speaking. He was not prepared for his own spell to bounce off the boy and fly right back at him. When he slumped to the ground, stupefied, the others in the room realised it had _not _been a diagnostic spell that he had fired at Harry.

"As you can see, any attempt to cast spells on me without my permission will be greeted with extreme prejudice. I _am_ twenty seven years old, and whether you believe that to be possible in your narrow minded view of the world means nothing to me. Regardless of whether I am eighteen or not, I am an adult and I will decide my actions, not you. Am I making myself perfectly clear?" He asked, in a deadly tone of voice.

"Harry, there is no need for such hostility. We only want what is best for you." Albus protested, feeling that his control over this meeting was beginning to slip away from him.

"No, you want what is best for you. That is why you stunned me and kidnapped me from my family's home and incarcerated me here, last year. However, you are lucky that my interests and yours coincide at this time. You wish to take down Voldemort," Again there were the ridiculous flinches, "And so do I. I suggest we cooperate with each other." Harry's declaration met agreement all round, though some of them were wondering what he was referring to about being kidnapped by the Headmaster.

"Very well. Perhaps you can explain who these people are with you? Especially the one who looks like Sirius. I cannot understand why you would disguise someone as your deceased godfather, and cause many here pain." He chided, hoping to salvage something from the impact of Harry's last statement.

"Ha! He thinks I'm an impostor, Harry. Heh, I bet all the Weasleys are wondering why they never thought of that earlier." Sirius said, his irreverence angering more than one person.

"Want to prove it to him, Padfoot? Some of them did believe they watched you fall though the veil. They have good reason to believe you're dead, even though you aren't." Harry asked and Sirius flapped a hand in dismissal.

"Why bother? I'm sure none of them really felt any pain when they thought I died. Most likely, they were happy to get that horrible criminal out of their hair. Of course, they have no problems setting up shop in that criminal's home. You know, I could invoke the right of ownership and chuck 'em all out on the street. If I were Polyjuiced or under a glamour, that wouldn't work for me. What do you reckon?" He asked, pleased at the alarmed look in many people's eyes.

"Nah, think of the noise, we'd probably have the neighbours complaining and everything." Harry said, heaving a sigh and studying his fingernails briefly. He looked to his other friends. "What about you guys, want to tell them who you are?"

"Do you think they would believe us if we did? Perhaps give them our names, so they do not merely point and say, 'You' or 'That one'. It's terribly impolite you know." Replied Xan and Harry laughed.

"Alright. This is Xan and his wife, Alis. This is the Doctor. They are all very good friends of mine, and while you are in my house, I expect you treat them with respect and courtesy. Clear?" He said and met with blank stares all round.

"Oh dear. You seem to have stunned them all into insensibility, Potter." Said Snape, and the Order members who had met Harry and his friends earlier, laughed along with said friends.

"Oh well, it's easily done, Professor, and you would know, after all!" He replied and managed to wring a chuckle out of the usually dour potions master.

"Alright, enough flippancy for the moment. Dumbledore, we are not friends. You let me down in a big way, as did many in this room. Now is not the time to seek forgiveness. Once Voldemort has been dealt with, we can discuss how we repair this relationship. In the meantime, let's keep it strictly business, agreed?" Harry asked, his face calm but his eyes showing his firm resolve.

The Headmaster looked like he wanted to push for more, but he also knew how to pick his battles. He nodded.

"Right, between us, we have come up with a plan…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Baldur's Gate and its associated mods, or anything else you recognise. **

**A/N: A bit shorter this time. I was going to wait until I had more to add, but I feel this chapter ends in exactly the right place. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and I hope you enjoy this next instalment. **

**Thanks also to my Beta reader, Calanor. **

* * *

Chapter Six

* * *

"If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years."

**Bertrand Russell **

_British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)_

* * *

"And what will you do with Tom, once you have him in custody?" Dumbledore asked the question Harry really didn't have an answer to.

He knew what the old man wanted to hear. Hell, he knew that pretty much everyone in the room wanted to hear the same thing, perhaps with the exclusion of Xan, Alis and the Doctor. And maybe even Snape.

The truth was, he didn't want to kill him.

Not just because he didn't want to have Tom Riddle's death on his conscience. But because Walburga had put the damned idea of redemption in his mind. He really didn't think it was possible, not with Voldemort the way he was now. However, one of the Doctor's tales had given him an idea. It was absolutely crazy, but it did have some chance of actually working.

A long time ago, the Doctor chased down an enemy of his who had been threatening the existence of the Earth. Bizarrely, because of him being a Time Lord, the events which led to this threat wouldn't actually occur for about nine years or so from now. Harry didn't like to think about that too much, as it made his head hurt. Even so, though her death was justified, he couldn't bring himself to kill her.

Because of an accident with a rift in time, which was actually located in Cardiff, the Doctor's enemy had looked into the living heat of the T.A.R.D.I.S. – its soul. When that happened she was regressed into an egg. She had been given the chance to live her life again, with her own choice to make between good and evil.

Everything that Harry was longed to give that chance to his parent's murderer. He had no proof that the result of Tom's upbringing wasn't his own fault. Walburga had hinted that something might have been done to him, but Harry was fairly sure there was no way for him to ever know if it was true, or to find any evidence of that.

Similarly, he didn't know if the same thing would happen to Voldemort if he looked into the heart of the ship, or even if the Doctor would agree to his plan. Now, in their present company, was not the time to discuss it. They could wait for later, in private.

So, with everyone looking at him expectantly, he gave them the answer they wanted to hear.

"I'll kill him." He replied and saw the look of satisfaction he was expecting in the faces of nearly everyone present.

While the Order were talking amongst themselves, some more jovial about the whole thing than he was comfortable with, Harry reached out a hand and squeezed the Doctor's arm. Trying to push his thoughts along the link formed by the living ship, he attempted to reassure his friends and godfather that he had no intention of becoming a murderer, if it could be avoided.

A moment later he felt an answering squeeze, and could only hope that meant that his message had been received.

* * *

Sometime later they were back in the bridge of the T.A.R.D.I.S.

During the chaos which had followed the meeting, the Doctor had slipped out and moved the ship into the bedroom which had been set aside for him. Some of Xan's enchantments stopped curious listeners from eavesdropping or even approaching the door when the five friends piled into the room and from there, into the ship.

"I assume you have an alternate plan, Harry. Care to share?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms and looking at his godson expectantly.

"I do, but it's a bit rough around the edges, presently." He looked at the Doctor. "Ever since Walburga asked me if I had had any suspicions about the 'source of the Dark Lord's malaise', I haven't been able to stop thinking about Margaret Blaine." He said, and waited.

With the Doctor being who he was, it didn't take long for the penny to drop.

"I see. You realise it might not work. That there might not be anything left of him after judgement." He pointed out and Harry nodded. He was well aware of that, and he also admitted that part of the reason he wanted to try was that even if the Dark Lord was destroyed in the attempt, Harry's soul would feel lighter because he had at least _tried_.

"Am I missing something here? Who is Margaret Blaine?" Asked Sirius, and the Doctor explained. The two elves had known who Harry was speaking of, since they had heard the story with him, the first time around.

"You have something of Ilmater in you, my young friend." Said Alis, and Harry smiled sheepishly. Ilmater was a god of her world, known as the being who wanted to lessen other people's pain. He was also known for his immense capacity to forgive.

"It is not completely altruistic motives which move me. If we agree on this plan, and I'm not commanding anyone here to go along with it if they don't want to – this needs to be a group decision – but if we do, I will find myself a lot easier to live with if we gave him a chance." He explained and looked to the Doctor.

Despite what Harry had said about it being a group decision, the whole thing pretty much rested on him. It was his ship after all. Plus, he was far wiser than Harry, and the young man knew it. If the Doctor thought it was a bad idea, then it probably was.

"Then you also know it is possible he may end up being given another chance. You know what happened to Blaine – she turned into a Slitheen egg. While I don't think you'll end up with a foetus, he might turn into an infant. Are you truly prepared for that? Because if he does, the people out there _cannot_ and _must not _know about it. You saw their faces when you said you would kill him – they were pleased! Pleased! They will not give him another chance, even if he is an innocent baby. So, I suppose what I am asking is, are you prepared to be his father, Harry?" The Doctor demanded and Harry swallowed.

"Yes. Yes, I am." He replied, knowing what it would mean. And also answering the question his friend didn't voice – _Are you prepared for what might happen if he chooses darkness again?_ Seemingly convinced, his friend nodded.

"Well and good then. I think you should change his name though. I might even have a book of them around here somewhere, though the reason why escapes me at present." The Doctor replied and Harry laughed. He was startled out of his merriment when he felt someone's hands on his shoulders, turning him around.

Sirius looked at him, his face grave.

"Harry, I know you are more compassionate than anyone I have ever met. And, I know you are a man now, more mature than me, most of the time. Well, all of the time. I'm not going to ask you if you're sure. You are, or you wouldn't have said it. I just want you to know that, even though this has to be _the_ maddest idea I've ever heard, you can count on me. Even for the late night feedings. OK?" He said, the hard look in his eyes fading, to one of pride and love. It was something the scared, lonely orphan which still lived inside Harry had been longing to see for his whole life.

"I love you, Padfoot." He said, embarrassed by the intensity of his feelings, but needing to express them anyway. And these were people he trusted, people who had been there when he had hit rock-bottom, more than once.

"I love you too, Harry. I know I've said it before, but I love you like my own. I'm so proud of you. Heh, our DNA might not match, but I'm sure Prongs won't mind me claiming you as my son." Sirius replied.

A loud sniff brought their attention to Alis, who was dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief supplied by her husband. Said husband was standing next to her looking rather bemused by the whole thing.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it Xan? I'm just so happy for them!" She wailed, and her husband looked at her strangely.

"Are you alright cormamin? It was a very touching moment to be sure, but you're ever so flushed. Come to think of it, you've been looking a bit peaky, on and off for the last few weeks. Are you ill?" He asked and she smiled again.

"Do you know what he just called me? My heart! He called me his heart, isn't that lovely?" She said to the others, beaming at her husband and then blowing her nose loudly.

"Very attractive, I'm sure." Said Harry in an aside to Sirius. "Have you just been repressing your romantic, girly side or something Alis? Because I've never seen you like this before." He said with a frown.

Xan too, looked rather confused at her display. Alis glanced at them all and the dropped the simpering, fluffy act and stamped her feet in frustration.

"Oh, alright! Fine! I was just trying to enjoy a beautiful moment, but you men had to go and spoil it! When are we going to get some more women around here anyway? Have you any idea how irritating it is to be the only woman on this ship? With you men and all your scratching and belching and other wind related noises!? Honestly! A girl can't even have a mood swing in peace!" She said stomping off out of the room to who knew where.

"Wind related noises?" Protested Sirius indignantly.

The Doctor smiled knowingly at Xan. The enchanter looked really rather flustered. The whole effect was quite comical on the usually ultra composed man.

"Oh no, don't say it! She's not… Seldarine give me strength!" He said, scurrying after his wife.

"She's not what? Hey! I'm talking to you!" Sirius shouted, but at a look from Harry he didn't go after the two elves.

"Pregnant, Padfoot. She's pregnant. Well, it was only a matter of time with the way those two carry on. I'm surprised it took so long, to be honest." Harry told him and his godfather gaped. After a second, he closed his mouth and shrugged.

"Well, they deserve it. Aren't they just the definition of transcendent love? Rather them than me, though." Sirius declared. Shrugging again, he turned the conversation back to the main point. "So, I'm thinking, if we _do_ go ahead with this plan, we're going to have to provide them with a body, however it turns out. And it can't just be transfigured. It's going to need a lot more than that."

"_I can help you there."_

"Ah, I was wondering when you were going to join in with this conversation." Chirped the Doctor happily.

"_I was having a nap, however, all the hormones and histrionics woke me up."_ The ship complained huffily. Harry wondered whether she would be pouting if she had lips.

"So, what do you think?" He asked, rather nervous of the answer.

"_It is a fine idea. I knew you were special, Harry Potter. That is why I came to you, in your hour of need. However, I cannot tell you what the outcome will be until I have met him. But I can provide you with the substitute you require. It will stand up to your wizard tests." _

"Thank you. I'm very grateful to have your support. All of you. Now we just have to work out a way to make the switch." He said, and the other two nodded.

* * *

"I've been thinking. Should we get Snape and Malfoy in on this? And maybe Remus?" Sirius suggested. The others looked at him curiously. "I mean, Snape and Malfoy have inside information, right? And Remus, well. I don't know how much he can offer strategy wise, but I'm worried about leaving him alone too long. He's really fragile right now." He explained and they thought about it.

"I think we would benefit from their input, but we would have to have a way of ensuring their silence on these matters. This is far more risky than Harry's travel plans." The Doctor said, and the others nodded.

"Absolutely. We could get in very serious trouble over this. The sort where they hex first and ask questions later, preferably when they've banged you up in Azkaban." Harry agreed.

"An Unbreakable Vow? With those two involved, you'd have to be pretty sure of the wording." Sirius mused.

"Xan, do you know of anything? I seem to recall studying something like this, but I don't remember all the particulars." Harry asked and the elf shook his head.

"Nothing that wouldn't require constant maintenance. Melamin, do you know of any such spell?" He asked his wife, knowing that she had retained a large portion of the knowledge she had gleaned from places like the Library of Carsus where she and Harry had first met.

"I think I know what Harry is referring to, but the memory is hazy. Can we not combine spells? Is that difficult to do?" She queried and the magical people in the room frowned.

"We'd have to get the Arithmancy exactly right." Sirius cautioned.

"Gentlemen and Lady, may I remind you. This is a Time Machine. If you don't have the answer here, go out and find it." The Doctor said in an exasperated voice. The four friends smiled sheepishly when they heard the ship laughing in their heads as well.

"Alright, fair point. Carsus first?" Asked Harry, and the Doctor nodded, already tapping in the coordinates.

"Hold on tight!" He said with glee, and the ship lurched forward.

* * *

They stepped out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. and back into the bedroom assigned to the Doctor about five minutes after they left it. They had really been gone for about four days. It really was _awfully_ convenient having a time machine at their disposal.

The spell they were looking for was a bit complicated, but now they had had some practice either Xan or one of the two wizards were be able to cast or reverse it. They had also agreed there was no point in delaying speaking with the two spies and Remus. The sooner everything was taken care of, the sooner they could be outta there!

A few hushed conversations later, and the two pseudo Death Eaters and the werewolf were sat on some conjured chairs in the Doctor's bedroom. The T.A.R.D.I.S. was hidden from their view for the moment as there was no need to divulge all of their secrets at once.

They hadn't asked permission to cast the spell which would protect their minds, since they could foresee a lot of wrangling going on before any of the three would agree, and that would waste unnecessary time.

So it was that Remus, Draco and Snape were sitting in their chairs and glaring at Harry and friends. It probably wouldn't be the last time they were in this situation either. But in a certain light, the three of them did look rather funny.

"Apologies for taking you by surprise like that gentlemen, but we need your help. Unfortunately, we need your silence on certain matters, so we had to be sure you would not be able to either voluntarily or involuntarily give away secure information." Xan told them, and they only scowled stronger.

"Explain yourselves, now." Snape snapped menacingly, and it stirred something almost nostalgic in Harry.

"Very well. I have no intention of killing Voldemort once he is in my power, if I can avoid it." He stated boldly and waited for their reaction.

"Sometimes I think you do that on purpose just to shock people." Said Sirius and Harry nodded.

"Course I do. Well, gentlemen?" He replied, turning back to their three guests.

"Surely, Harry, he deserves it? I mean, _your parents_! Everyone else he – surely he, more than anyone else, deserves it?" Remus protested vehemently, unable to conceive of the notion that Harry might spare Voldemort.

"I know. I'm not saying I haven't thought about it. Or that I wouldn't take satisfaction from obtaining my revenge in such a direct way. But honestly? I don't think I could live with that on my conscience if I didn't try and find another way." He told them, and watched them closely to try and work out what they were thinking. Easier said than done when it came to people like Snape and Malfoy.

Lupin, in his turbulent state of emotion was an open book. Harry didn't have many doubts about persuading him, however. But he was not above containing the man if necessary. No, it was the other two who worried him.

"While I can understand the desire to maintain a clean soul, or at least preserve it in its current state, your statement implies that you consider the Dark Lord redeemable in some fashion, and I am shocked that you could still be so incredibly naive. There is nothing human left in him, Potter." Snape said, and Harry was alarmed but unsurprised at the self loathing evident in the man's voice.

"Severus is right, Harry. He is too far gone. And giving him a chance to convince you he isn't, is not just stupid, it's suicidal. As soon as you turn your back on him, he will stab you in it. Repeatedly." Draco said, a hard edge to his tone.

"I know all of this. I realise I have not spent time with him as his servant or ally, but I have been inside his head and believe me, it is not somewhere I enjoyed being. But you are not operating with all relevant information. Doctor, if you would?" He said, gesturing to his friend.

"Now we come to the part which warranted such paranoid security measures. Gentlemen, I am a Time Lord, and this," He pointed in the direction of the T.A.R.D.I.S. "This is my ship."

* * *

Some rather incredulous outbursts and calm rebuttals later, and the three guests were in possession of the salient facts.

All three of them thought Harry was crackers.

While they could appreciate the compassion that was driving him, along with his own selfish desire to remain untainted, the Doctor and his technology were both so beyond their ken that they found it hard to put any faith in them.

After a while, Harry got sick of all the bickering.

"Listen, Snape, Draco, and Remus – you don't have to believe it will work. None of us know what will happen when Tom Riddle looks into the heart of the T.A.R.D.I.S. However, I am prepared to accept the consequences of whatever _does_ happen. That is all you really need to know. We need your help in getting him to the ship and making sure he is subdued. Then we'll take it from there. Whether he is killed or returns to infancy, we will need proof for the rest of the world that he is dead. And even though the ship has assured us she can provide a believable body, there are many who are going to want to witness his downfall. I can think of one particular old goat that is going to be suspicious if he is not there." He was calm as he explained this all to them, but he couldn't help scowling at the thought of his former Headmaster.

While he was feeling more forgiving towards some of his former friends than he had initially thought possible, the old man would be receiving no absolution from Harry. In some ways, he was willing to admit a man as old as Dumbledore was bound to make mistakes. But that didn't excuse the way he'd treated Harry and his family.

A person should be willing to take responsibility for their own actions.

If their faculties were failing with age, they should have the courage to face that fact and remove themselves from a position where their mistakes might hurt other people. In no way did he think that it would be an easy decision to make, and he understood that many would not be able to confront such weakness in themselves.

That was why he believed that people in high positions like Dumbledore should be held accountable by others. It was of course possible, that if the old goat was suffering from some kind of dementia or decline in his mental powers, he was hiding it exceptionally well.

Added to that, the man did have an enormous amount of charisma and a sterling reputation to back it up. It was entirely possible that while some might question isolated incidents, they may well be persuaded to overlook them as singular, important threads in whatever grand tapestry the man was weaving.

All of this he knew.

But whatever mitigating circumstances the man might claim, he had done wrong. And because of that wrong, and its direct consequences for Harry, their relationship was irrevocably broken. There would be no redemption, no second or third chances. Maybe in death, Harry would be able to grant him forgiveness, but not before.

It did strike him as odd that he was offering more mercy to the one who took his family from him than someone who claimed to be his friend. But Voldemort had never smiled to his face and then attacked him when his back was turned. The Dark Lord might have done such a thing if he had found himself in that situation, he definitely might have. But he had not patted Harry on the head and sent him back to an abusive home and neglectful guardians, year after year.

He had not pretended to be his friend while manipulating every aspect of his life, and hiding things from him he damn well had a right to know.

He had not let Harry's beloved godfather go to prison without fighting tooth and nail to get him a fair trial.

He had – Harry shook himself out of his deep cogitation before he ended up working himself in a fury. Calm, he needed to be calm. Dumbledore would get his, one way or another.

When he looked up, it was to find everyone staring at him, as if waiting for something. He gave them a rueful smile and straightened in his chair.

"I'm sorry, I was just going over things in my head. So, Snape, Draco, Remus – friend or foe?" He asked.

"Friend." Said Remus, a touch affronted.

"Friend." Draco declared, crossing his arms, the beginnings of a genuine smile forming on his face.

There was a long pause while Snape looked Harry in the eyes. There was no brush of Legilimency, Harry felt no attempts by his former Professor to try and break into his mind. Whatever assessment he was making was based on something else.

"Friend." He said softly, and that strange, lopsided smile broke out again. "And perhaps, under the circumstances, you should call me Severus." He offered and Harry chuckled.

"Very well. I appreciate the sentiment. Severus then. You realise this means you'll have to call me Harry now?" He replied and Severus frowned.

"Indeed. I suppose I shall have to bear it stoically, along with all my other crosses, Harry." He said, with a long suffering sigh. This time Harry laughed unrestrainedly, which only served to make the potions master sigh even louder.

"You and Xan should have a sighing competition! The odds would be pretty even, I reckon." Alis said, and her husband sighed. "See what I mean?" She said, pointing at her mate, who huffed. "No, no, no, melamin. Sigh, not huff. Try it again, with a bit more breath!" She teased and he crossed his arms, not making a sound. "You never let me have any fun." Alis pouted, and everybody laughed uproariously.

* * *

That night, as Harry was preparing for bed, he took a moment to sit and think about the plans they had set into motion.

He had told the Doctor he was prepared to become Tom's father if it came to it. And though he was convinced he would take the infant Dark Lord in as his own, the prospect was more than daunting.

He truly wasn't sure what would happen when Voldemort looked into the heart of the T.A.R.D.I.S. And he also wasn't sure which outcome he favoured – death or rebirth.

For a very long time, since finding out about the wizarding world and his own place in it, he had believed he would be sacrificed in the war. He hadn't been pleased about it, but he had felt he had little choice. Then, when he was offered an alternative, he had jumped on it.

As the years passed, he had begun to make plans for his future. A family of his own was something he dearly wished for. And, if rebirth was the fate in store for Tom Riddle, Harry would be firmly on the path of being a family man, albeit a strange and unconventional one. He didn't really want to be a single Dad, but that prospect looked rather likely at present.

Being Tom's father would be anything but easy. Even if the process brought him back to a time where he was merely an innocent baby, Tom Riddle was a brilliant child. A prodigy, one might say. Being parent to such a person would be challenging, that was for sure.

The Doctor was right as well, no one could know that his child was the self-styled Lord Voldemort. He would have to give him a new name and a new identity. Luckily, since he didn't plan to stay in the wizarding world when this war was done and dusted, creating his identity would be a lot easier. Perhaps Xan and Alis knew a way to disguise him? He remembered reading something about elven glamours. He made a mental note to ask them about it as soon as it was convenient.

Dumbledore and Ginny Weasley were the only two people likely to recognise Tom as Tom Riddle and then make the connection to Lord Voldemort. It would be fairly easy to avoid both of them, so it wasn't a big a problem as others they would face.

The big question that was really worrying him was, would Tom suffer from the lack of a mother? Alis was a wonderful woman, and she would definitely help in any way she could. However she _was_ having her own child, and he didn't know how long she and Xan would want to travel with the Doctor when their baby arrived. He knew the Time Lord would welcome them all for as long as they wanted to stay, but maybe they didn't want that kind of life for their little one?

Well, there was no way to know for now and speculating with very little information would prove pointless.

Of course, a mother was a great influence in any child's life, but he would never form a relationship with someone based on that reason alone. There was no point in forcing a union for such spurious reasons as it would likely do more harm than good.

He did long for a companion of his own, but he had never met anyone, save for one person, with whom he'd felt that spark. And now, because of his travels, there was a significant age gap between them. If they met again, today, would he still feel the same? Would she feel anything for him? And would she be willing to leave everyone she knew behind, travelling with him and the Doctor? Could he even ask her to do something like that?

He snorted and got into bed.

His thoughts were whirring through his mind at an alarming speed and he knew he would never get any sleep at this rate. Chances were, he would not bump into the girl he was thinking of, and so he would never have the chance to see if they even liked each other, anymore. She might even be with someone else, by now.

That thought made him really unhappy.

Clearing his mind in the way Xan had taught him, Harry turned off the light on his bedside table, and went to sleep.

As was often the case, when one is thinking about something or someone just before going to sleep, his dreams were filled with the girl in question.

Especially her dirty blonde, waist-length hair, and her protuberant silvery grey eyes.

* * *


End file.
